By Colleen Ellison-Wareing
Early on in our life together, my husband Mike and I began dreaming about owning a sailboat. Our neighbor Charlie, who owned a 26-foot Hughes, took us sailing the weekend before our wedding. While on our honeymoon in Barbados, we ventured out on a Sunfish dinghy. Though both events led to newbie mishaps, we were inspired and jointly dreamed of a family life spent together with our children on sailboats.
To make our dreams a reality, Mike and I took sailing lessons while I was pregnant with our first daughter, Katie. Her death shortly after her birth made us even more determined to be a sailing family. A few weeks after Katie’s passing, Mike saw an abandoned 17-foot Siren in a farmer’s field and commenced working through his grief by restoring the boat we named Katie. When I became pregnant with our daughter, Brooke, both of our extended families participated in preparing to launch Katie. Coming together via sanding, painting, sewing, patching, and repairing the boat seemed to fix all of us.
Katie’s first launch was, fittingly enough, a family reunion bringing together three generations of family from two countries and many cities. Our lovingly restored sailboat brought our extended family together to share sunshine, laughter, and moments we never found on land. Aboard Katie, we realized our dream of becoming a sailing family! That little Siren created so many memories, like the special sugary treats given when the kids donned their PFDs. We vacationed with her, trailering her on holidays and camping trips. Our family discovered the freedom of beaching a boat on a small, isolated island, deeming it the most breathtaking place in the world.
Our family grew, and as the kids got bigger, the boat seemed smaller. So we graduated to a 25-foot MacGregor, Katie Too. Finally, all four of us could sleep inside! We enrolled the kids in sailing school; we knew it was crucial that our children were taught water safety and learned to be competent captains. Picnics and painting the boat had brought the family together and now more of us could sail! As all of us agreed that we were happiest when we spent summers on sailboats, we decided to step up again and buy a 31-foot Hunter.
That first summer on Katie 3, we ferried my cousin’s family of six over to an island and sought a mythical tower together. Another time, my husband brought our dear friends and their newborn out to join us near another island, where we huddled under our Bimini top during the rain and laughed as loudly as we could ever have imagined.
Part of the magic that sailing brings is the anticipation of the unknown adventures. To be a bit stereotypical, the men who joined us sought to channel their inner Huckleberry Finns and the women seemed to rise to the challenge of Laura Ingalls Wilder, making do on a sailboat as they might on the prairie. Each boating get-together created new and special moments that eventually became cherished memories.
Three boats and 18 years have passed since our first reunion. We have gathered to sail with various members of both of our families, now four generations strong. Cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, and aunts have met us on one lake or another to reconnect and regroup. The boat and the island that hosts us both offer solitary moments and sociable triumph (for whatever reason, campfire songs and moonlight mysteries only occur when we’re on a sailing adventure). Our children, grown and no longer nestled in the bow, bring their friends to share in our wonderful, wavy world.
Last year we had a concert in the cockpit of our sailboat, with two brothers, three guitars, and one amp creating an unforgettable night of music. Our neighbors on the dock gathered around, making it another magical place and a prized memory. This year, though the grandparents are now limited in their mobility, we have found a way to keep them sharing in the fun — aboard a houseboat! Granddad can laugh and sing with his sons and grandsons while shaded on the deck and only steps away from all modern conveniences.
Mike and I have the family sailing life of our dreams. In the course of honoring our loss and making memories, we’ve shown our children how multi-generational gatherings are a vital part of being a family. If life is a journey for boaters, life is a voyage. Occasions spent boating are most definitely the best times!
