Charlie Dixon

Comments:

Port Orchard Cruise July 31 – Aug 2.2004

Dave Parry has already done a very nice report on the Port Orchard cruise.  I’m not going to duplicate that, except to add my thank-you to Leigh and Annette and their assistants. 

We each see a cruise through our own knot hole, or should that be port hole, and I’d like to share a bit of the view I had.

I slipped away for most of Saturday afternoon, to attend a family affair.  Thank-you Bill and Kathy for loaning me your slip in Des Moines.  Club members have been known to make extra effort to support the activities of family members, and I really believe in supporting family.  In my case, the side trip I took to Seattle via Des Moines allowed me to see my son, Paul, take his first level kung-fu test and receive his orange belt.  His wife, Katie, already has her second-level (purple) belt, and she participated in the testing process.  Watching a married couple demonstrating kung-fu methods on each other is a view I’ve never had before.

When I returned to Port Orchard, few of you noticed my arrival, which is a good thing, a very good thing, because I misjudged the wind while backing into the slip.  Only a very heroic and athletic move by Leigh maintained separation between my bow rail and Daymond’s gelcoat.  I’ll always remember the view of Leigh, my personal bow thruster, hanging over the water from the deck of that unnamed boat.  Thank-you Leigh.

I was not the only one to take a walking side trip down the dock to the area occupied by the Totem Yacht Club.  I got lucky, though, and saw their live entertainment.  A man was singing and accompanying himself on guitar.  His repertoire included works by Arlo Guthrie and Chuck Berry.  I was told that he was the guest of a club member, and that the performance was not planned.  I enjoyed the show, just another view from my port hole.

Speaking of music, we had a lot of it ourselves, mostly pre-recorded.  Grant and I did a little bit of live music that only a few people heard.  I did overhear a comment or two from club members about the lateness and loudness of the recorded music.  Just sharing what drifted in through my port hole.

Starting Friday, I’ll be on the water for 12 of 24 days, including a personal cruise for the week-end that there is no club or Lake Union event. The 24th day I’ll start in Deer Harbor and end up watching Husky football and the boats going by in the ship canal.  The Sea Ray life is good, even when you’re not actually looking through a port hole.

Charlie Dixon
Secretary and Freelance Reporter