Konza Sailor, July 2005, page 3

Sailor Jon Held treated those attending this year's Spring Banquet to a terrific presentation as he recounted his sailing adventure in the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi, and across the Gulf to Florida. Several years ago, Jon took a break for teaching electrical engineering at K-State to pursue his life-long dream of making this trip, and in doing so, followed his philosophy that living life richly is more important than accumulating riches.

Jon began looking for a modest keelboat in need of repairs, repairs Jon was quite capable of making - an impressive fact those attending the Banquet soon come to know. Jon found the right boat on eBay, and so began his adventure.

Most amazingly, Jon began his adventure with almost no previous experiences in sailing big boats. Jon had only sailed small dinghies prior to pursuing this long-time dream. After making extensive repairs and put his boat in the water for the first time, Jon found himself on the Great Lakes, by himself. He caste off lines, raised the sails for the first time, and probably mumbled to himself something like, "Now what do I do?"

Well, he obviously learned quickly and overcame the many trials and tribulations that would appear on his voyage. By the time he reached Florida - body, mind, spirit, and boat mostly in one piece - he had eaten a lot of ice cream, picked-up a lovely mate (the ultimate fate of whom was not made entirely clear by Jon to his audience), and solved scores of problems with clever and inexpensive solutions.

Thanks, Jon, for the wonderful trip!

No summer blahs at BVYC. Sailors had a hard time getting started this spring and many boats sat idle, but as summer came on bringing wind and heat, there appeared to be increased activity at BVYC. In early summer a micro burst of some type ripped through the dinghy park raking havoc with several boats. Damage was remarkably light in the park even though boats were piled on top of one another and concrete tie downs were ripped out of the ground. Out in the harbor, Bob and Jane Mullen had the misfortune of seeing their 27 foot keelboat swept into the stumps. This was the second time this year that their boats sustained damage from natural repositioning. The first time, the mooring chain broke; the second time the micro burst and waves caused the boat to bounce the mooring anchor some 100 feet into the stumps. Both boats are now back in action albeit with some cosmetic dents and scratches.

There was plenty of heat in July but the wind was un

usually strong. According to records kept for 24 days the wind was moderate to strong on 18 of those days. It is hard to believe that the wind howled 75% of the month. And on most of the other days there was enough wind to propel the boats for a while. That was a good July in spite of the heat.

A few things were accomplished during those July blahs. Netting installed in the shelter should now be a deterrent to the messy nesting of the swallows. A new dock for dinghy sailors is in the water and hopefully will be anchored and usable soon. On Saturday, July 23rd the club was a beehive of activity as scouts, leaders and parents gathered for a day of training, indoctrination and fun. Even as the mercury hit 104, there were still many sails lofting in the breeze, heads bobbing in the water and a shelter full of hungry people . All of this and there is still a week to go in the month . Perhaps BVYC is a way to beat the heat and summer blahs.