Serendipity - Good things happen when you least expect it!

This blog is a stream of consciousness with posted events not always in chronological order. This is the rest of the story about how I came to own a sailboat the same day I saw the boat with the port side submerged and a lone scuba diver in the water to the stern. This serendipitous event happened on 2-23-10 while walking one day with a challenged adult and my tick Beagle Snoopy out at Salem Lake. This whole sailing journey has been so surreal since the first say I met the previous owner Terry Wood. I quickly learned Terry had not been out to the lake for nearly 8 months and the boat had taken on so much water that today was the "day of the resurrection."Terry said that he just did not have time to sail anymore due to his busy schedule in finance at Comp Rehab/Baptist Hospital and horseback riding has become his new hobby with his girlfriend. Terry lives in East Bend and his commute to the lake is nearly 45 min. As the boat began to rise and water flowing out the hatch, the boat started to take form and I quickly admired the "sweet" teardrop design of the Bayliner Buccaneer. Terry had his arms crossed in front of his chest and I sensed the emotions of dismissal and disgust at the condition of his sailboat. All I could say was, "Wow, that is a beautiful "boat!" Terry responded by saying with his current situation in life he was going to "get rid of it." I asked him how much he wanted for his boat and his response is etched in my mind forever! " I'm going to give it to the first person that wants it. A nanosecond later, I said, "I'll take it!" He said, " Are you serious?" "Absolutely!" One phonecall to his girlfriend later, a check Terry stroked for nearly $700, and I now owned a sailboat that I wasn't sure would even sail. Terry also gave me a trailer and the $65 slip fee was current for the rest of 2010. My son Parker would say, "That's serendipity Dad!" My problem was I don't know how to sail. I had not been sailing since I was in my twenties with my uncle David Pfefferkorn on his 30 foot "Sloop De Jour" on High Rock Lake. My only other experience was when I was invited to crew in a Regatta at Lake Norman with Dr. Kornegay, orthopeadic surgeon and Dr. Paschall, oncologist in Winston-Salem. I remember how much I enjoyed the sensations of sailing: the power and sound of the wind in the sails, the lap of the water against and under the side of the boat, and the what a rush it was when you caught some wind and the boat began to heel over and cut through the water! Like flying, I was also intrigued by the physics of sailing and the complexity of how a boat actually sails in apparent wind. Everything on a sailboat including all lines, rigging, and crew all serve a purpose. I don't know how to sail but I can learn!