Lyle Hess’s Tribute to Change

What you are looking at is one of the finest ocean going yachts in the world. Handmade by a New Zealander I met in 2005. The boat is about twelve years old now and has been circumnavigated. At present it is in San   Rafael. Chris and his wife Helen depart for Mexico, Hawaii and a visit back to New   Zealand this autumn. While the boat is only thirty feet in length she displaces over nine tons. Her purpose is for voyaging across open oceans. The design is based upon the Bristol Channel Cutter that one hundred years ago served sailors in the North Sea. While off the coast of Alaska Chris recounted a tale of waiting out at sea for a storm to pass for three days in sustained winds that were measured at 78 knots! Indeed these are stout vessels with great capacity to absorb punishing forces of wave and wind. They are throw backs too. Constructed of wood, systems are elemental, navigation accomplished by sextant, compass, chronograph and chart. Everything a sailor needs to go to sea is here. If you look at the photograph you can see that in the picture a roller furling headsail has been selected. Chris has carefully substituted new technologies for older when he has deemed the innovation increases safety. Here is a rare and wondrous sighting. Here is tradition rubbing against the inevitable law of change…

Bankrupt Heart                                     The Second Novel

            “I picked a pretty one to make my bride, but sailing was all of my life and it
meant something less to her, she’d come to do it, but not with her heart, she
did it for the sake of the marriage.”

            “You do it for your man?” Ry asked.

            “Well, not exactly.” Conner looked
at Gail. They gave each that telling glance. “I don’t think I know how long we
each looked at one another,”

            Gail continued, “It was like we all
thought of it at the same time.”

            “We looked each other in the eye,”
Conner explained, “and all of us at once, had come to the same conclusion, why
not work out a swap, I’ll take your wife and you can take mine.”