A California weekend visit ...

Over the weekend, I flew out to San Jose and spent the weekend with my daughter Lisa.  The trip was prompted by a special event at San Jose State University, where the Department of Humanities honored four pioneer faculty of the Humanities Honors Program, which was started in 1954 by my father and three other colleagues.  The idea was pushed to fruition by Maxine Fink, wife of one of these pioneers, who also had the wisdom to honor the spouses of the four faculty members.  Lisa and I attended the plaque dedication at a

small gathering of Humanities Program faculty, students and friends and relatives of those being honored on Monday evening.  Maxine Fink and Nancy Burbank were both there, the first time I had seen either of them since my father died in 1998.  It was a heartwarming gathering, for sure.

I also took advantage of the trip to drop in on Dog Days, my Islander Bahama 28 in Alameda.  After a lot of soul searching, I decided that I would put her back on the market.  Since I'm not using her and the chances of my using her more than once or twice a year are slim at best, it doesn't make sense to hang on to her.  Just the maintenance and berthing costs made me think hard about this, but more she is bound to deteriorate from disuse, not something any sailor would wish on a good boat.  So, I dropped in on Klaus Kutz at Passage Yachts and we reactivated the sales contract that I had signed with him back in June.

Dog Days is a really nice boat, so if you know anyone who is in the market for a solid, classic sloop, give Klaus a call or drop me a note.

                                                                          Sailing Dog Days on the Petaluma River, Summer 2008.