“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.”
John F. Kennedy
My Dad loved to sail.
I suppose it’s not surprising knowing he was born on an island. A big island mind you.
Jack Desmond Wordsworth (1923 – 2010) was born in Woolige, Kent, England.
We immigrated to Canada in 1953. We sailed to Canada on a large Canadian Pacific passenger ship.
Once he became settled my father was able to purchase a sailboat. I am grateful that I could sail with my Dad for almost 4 decades.
John Wordsworth – sailor
We owned a total of seven different sailboats together.
Our first was a Shark Sail Number 1093.
Like many sailors, my Dad had “Footitis”. This expression can have various descriptions and it is not in fact a physical disease. “Footitis” refers to the need for a sailboat owner to move up to a newer sailboat, one that is in fact ‘one foot’ longer. It goes by various definitions including “Two-Footitis”, for those sailors who feel they would be truly content, if they had a boat just two feet longer.
As you can see from the photographs my Dad and I were able to graduate to bigger sailboats over time. Each time our skill level and knowledge of sailing technique increased and I believe this continued life-long learning may one of the contributing factors to my Dad still being so mentally sharp at the age of 87.
The last sailboat we owned together was “Rufus”, a CS 34. Jack was very much my mentor in sailing, in business, and in life.
There are few feelings as exciting and inspiring as feeling the movement of a boat, brought about by the simple, natural blowing of the wind. Sailing can teach us a lot about life and I am grateful that was able to share so much of this with my Dad.
There is nothing like soaking up the sun on the water on a summer day.
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