When we discovered the Seawind 1160 at the 2006 Annapolis Sailboat Show, I was already what one medical specialist described as an “orthopedic museum”. Matter of fact, that diagnosis was provided during my first preventative medicine checkup after joining the giant aerospace company and being introduced to what then was called “managed health care”. At the time the concept was that spending a little bit to keep folks healthy was cheaper than fixing them after they got sick. My how times have changed in that business. Anyway, the orthopod told me that if I got the urge to go for a run, “lay down until it goes away”. Heck, I was only 28 then, and it would be another 7 years of SCUBA diving, skydiving, hiking, flying upside down, white water rafting and generally cavorting around until I managed to crash a sailplane during a local soaring club racing event. That mishap certainly did turn me into an orthopedic wonder, with crushed heels, broken ankles, cracked #1 lumber vertebrae, collapsed left lung, and plenty of lacerations. A free helicopter ride to a trauma center, 8 days in intensive care, and about 3 months in a hospital bed with my feet in the air, lots of wheelchair time, then 4 months of physical therapy later I was cripping around slowly with the help of a cane. I finally threw that thing away and got back to my former life but knew I would always have certain limitations to observe and that they might amplify as time went on.
So when I met the lovely Isabel and we decided to sail the world together, I knew it would have to be on a platform that wouldn’t become the limiting factor in how long we might be able to enjoy this lifestyle. As we say now, we’ll do this until it’s not fun anymore, or until we think of something else that’s even more fun to do. In the meantime, sailing a “leaner” as I like to refer to monohulls is something we’ve both done quite a bit of. I’ve been fortunate enough to work as passage crew for Captain Ian on various superyachts, sailing well over 11,000 blue water miles in the Atlantic and Mediterranean in a variety of sea conditions. Big sailboats in big seas leave you with big bruises. I managed to convince Isabel that a catamaran would allow us both, but especially me, to enjoy this lifestyle a whole lot longer as we tottered slowly into antiquity.
Our Seawind 1160 has been a great solution, but not long after we bought her our broker Kurt Jerman introduced us to a couple who could answer lots of my engineering questions about the boat design. Hello Ralph and Helen Marx, fellow Arizonians and longtime sailing enthusiasts. Turns out they ordered their Seawind 1160 when Ralph had just turned 77 years old. Moondrifter was commissioned just a few months before JollyDogs. They took delivery in 2008 and have sailed Pacific mainland Mexico and the Sea of Cortez about 7 months out of every year since. Along the way they’ve demonstrated that the Seawind 1160 is a design that can be managed shorthanded, is easy and safe to sail, and truly allows folks to enjoy this lifestyle into their later years.
Coronavirus forced them to put Moondrifter on the hard in Guaymas, Mexico back in March and retreat to their home in Arizona. Given the unknowns about when this pandemic might finally end and their own personal situation, they’ve elected to sell her to some lucky new owner. Ralph is around 90 now so I reckon that’s pretty good going. Ralph and Helen are living proof that we could be enjoying this lifestyle for many more years ourselves.
We’ll be putting JollyDogs up for sale in less than 2 years, but not because we’re giving up. Seawind is going to build us a brand spankin’ new 1370 and we’re planning to take delivery at the factory right there in Vietnam, do some of our own outfitting in Lankawi and Phuket, then enjoy sailing in Asia and beyond. Shucks, I’ll only be 63.
Thank you, Ralph and Helen, for enriching our lives so much, for your mentoring and inspiration. You are legends in our minds.
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