Paul and is wife Anita who sali a Catalina 36 MKII named Ra'iatea were winners of Spiroll Rope protectors last summer and have shared their sailstice story with us. Their current home port is Port Annapolis Marina located in Annapolis, Maryland. They regularly sail the entire Chesapeake Bay and sometimes on the Delaware Bay. They have participated with Sailstice at least 3 or 4 times in the past. and will be signing up for this year soon.
Paul's first sailing experience was with a 12' Firefly sloop on Union Lake in Millville NJ many years ago. He still owns this boat.
Paul shares his funniet time on a boat: several years ago, sailing on a charter with friends. I was at the helm slowly approaching our dock for the evening. My friend was assisting to hop off with dock lines. As he was anxious to disembark, he straddles the lifelines and grabbed for the jib sheet to hang on to until we reached the dock to step off. Unfortunately, the jib sheet was not secure on the main winch and pulled out under his weight. Over the side he went into the water as the boat continued to drift toward the dock. All on board could not stop laughing and man overboard survived with only a bruised ego. Great moment.
Thanks for sharing Paul! I think we have all had moments on a boat where someone trips/falls/or drops something and it inevtebly causes a chain of reactions that you can't help but laugh at. I was waiting for a friend to pick me up in a skiff the other day and watched these two girls on a beautiful little motorboat that were obviosuly having engine trouble drift along the anchorage. They picked up the anchor and heaved it over only to discover that they had forgot to attach it to the boat. They burst out laughing and a few minutes later a friend showed up to tow them back in! It is keeping your sense of humor and good spirits that make the best sailing buddies!
