40 Years! Are you kidding?

Nope. I am not kidding. That is how long it took me to find our First Mate from my boating days onboard our 112' submarine chaser, Sondra II, in the '70s. For those of you have not read my book, Stuart West was the first brave (although naive) soul to sign up just days before we set sail for Key West from Halifax.

Here is the excerpt from the book.

THE MOTLEY CREW

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

August 1978

“There are three sorts of people; those who are alive,

those who are dead, and those who are at sea.”

-LD CAPSTAN CHANTEY ATTRIBUTED TO ANACHARSIS, 6TH CENTURY BC

OUR motley crew miraculously began to pop up out of

nowhere. First, it was a former junior-level schoolteacher from

Ontario who, bored with kids, was looking for something to

shake him up a bit. Stuart simply appeared at the bottom of the

gangplank early one morning. Once invited aboard, he walked

up the plank with purpose in his stride, accompanying his

introduction with a convincingly firm handshake undoubtedly

designed to offset his lack of experience. I studied him as he

approached. His body was sort of non-descript—not tall, not

particularly muscular or fit as indicated by his slight paunch, but

his overall appearance was certainly striking. Great shocks of

Irish-red, shaggy hair and complete facial ‘fro the texture of a

Brillo pad juxtaposed his Ralph Lauren fashion statement.

Overall, there was a softness about him that I liked—slow-

moving mannerisms, quiet speech, full lips that smiled easily and

green eyes that listened. I had a feeling he would be good for

David. Over coffee, we discussed the fact that no pay would be

involved, that it would simply be room, board and uncharted

excitement in exchange for work. We took him on, and because

he was a guy and this was the '70s, he was instantly made First

Mate. I didn’t like it but decided that David’s decision was a

means of making Stu feel welcome and important. For once

in my life, I kept my mouth zipped because I knew from the

racing scene that crew status changed like poll positions.

Stuart stayed with us for 4 years and became a great asset to the small team of 3 by the time we reached our destination. Thank god, cause a crew of 3 is a bit scarce for a 112 footer! We left Mahone Bay, Halifax, knowing nothing about going to sea - and I mean absolutely nothing - and we arrived in Key West, about a month later, seasoned sailors. It was not a nautical school for the weak at heart. 

Eventually, things started going south and Stuart decided to bail on a day that I was not present. No forwarding address and no memory of his last name were left behind. I mean, who uses last names unless you have to?

And do you think I or any of the crew or acquaintances from those years could remember it? 

So, 40 years ticked by. 

About a month ago, on my author's Facebook page, he popped up! And yesterday, we met up with a big hug in a little town in Ontario halfway between each of our homes. He is happy, healthy, successful in the education field and retired, spending his days traveling when possible. It was so darned good to see him and to share our common stories and have some belly laughs. 

Moral of the story - get the last name!