1978
2015
Today I had an email from a friend who told me that ‘Zeta’
was for sale. I owned two boats with that name. The smaller of them is for
sale; the other was wrecked on the far side of the Atlantic.*
Looking at the advert and the associated photographs, I was
reminded of times I had sailed the little boat. Memories that came to mind were
of sailing her to Holland when she was first rigged as a Bermudan sloop. My
wife and our youngest daughter joined me at Amsterdam for a cruise of the
inland waterways. We had a fantastic time.
Another occasion was far from fantastic. I was caught in a
gale in the middle of the English Channel between shipping lanes north and south.
The worst of the gale came in the middle of the night. The experience was frightening
and very physical. At one point I was sitting on the floor, wedged between the
side bunks, but I couldn’t stop myself from being thrown onto one of the bunks by
the severe motion.
There was also the time I tried taking a shortcut around
Start Point by keeping close to the rocks. We got caught on the edge of the
race, and waves came over the boat, completely filling her cockpit. She
continued sailing as if nothing had happened, but it took a good many minutes
for the water to exit through a single drain hole at the rear of the cockpit.
The advert for the sale of ‘Zeta’ has made me think how
fortunate I have been to have owned her and others like her. By clicking links
below you can see photos of most of them.
Importantly, the advert has made me realize how old I am. I
bought ‘Zeta’ in 1977 – that’s 38 years ago! Facts are facts, and the reality
is that I am no longer the chap I was. No matter how much I would like
to buy ‘Zeta’, realistically, I could not do the sort of things I did with her in
the past, and like other ‘old gaffers’, I can only reminisce, for as long as I can.
*Harrier, a radically modified Folksong yacht (Ex ‘Zeta’): http://bills-log.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/harrier-radically-modified-folksong.html
Links
Small ‘Zeta’ – Hunter Europa 19
Photos of Boats I Have Owned – Part 1
Photos of Boats I Have Owned – Part 2 (Featuring Small ‘Zeta’)
Photos of Boats I Have Owned – Part 3
Photos of Boats I Have Owned – Part 4
Photos of Boats I Have Owned – Part 5
Photos of Boats I Have Owned – Part 6
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