Twenty years ago, give or take a matter of days, I sat in the back of a ballroom in a Norfolk waterfront hotel and listened as Webb Chiles gave a talk about his life, his boats and his circumnavigations. He concluded the talk by saying he would raise a glass to us all, to our dreams and to the passion to pursue them. I did not meet Webb in person that evening, but I have carried that toast with me during all of my sailing.
A few years ago, because of this blog, I received an email from Webb. Since then we have carried on an occasional email conversation, a rambling discussion about boats, sailing, art, books and just about everything else.
And then, for reasons beyond his control, Webb had to cancel his trip.
We won't meet this coming week, but someday I do hope we cross paths.
Twenty years and counting.
steve
I follow Webb's Journal and your blog on a regular basis. Providence lost....for the time being. Here's hoping your paths will cross.
ReplyDeleteWebb sent a nice note one Christmas day after running across a photo of Dana and I on Papoose. Actually, Dana was on Papoose and I was in the dinghy pushing a la "Jolly Boat" - our diesel had died. He said it made him smile and called the dinghy Papoosh. It stuck as the boat name and we've a lot of laughs over it.
ReplyDeleteWe also traded a few emails when Irene came through because of his curiosity about what we were experiencing.
While I am fascinated and amazed by his writing, devotion to keeping in shape and his enjoyment of sailing, especially alone, I think his curiosity of the world & people is most striking to me. Maybe that is the bigger part of him maintaing his youthfulness.
I sure hope you get to spend some time with him. What a treat that would be.
For a few moments, I had considered driving to San Diego to visit Webb during his stay this winter (it's only a 24 hour drive...) ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a pleasure and an honor it would have been to see you both! Perhaps there'll be another time.
Not seeing Webb on this visit just gives me a good excuse for a trip out to the coast later this year -- as if I need an excuse to visit San Diego.
ReplyDeleteSteve
There is a fellow in San Diego rebuilding a Rhodes 33 and I have some old, original hardware and new sails and rigging he wants.
ReplyDeleteMaybe instead of shipping it, I'll deliver it myself.....