Let Me Sail, Let Me Sail, Let Me Crash Upon Your Shore!

Why is there a boat in Janet's backyard?  Many of you might remember it.  This is the story about the who, what, when, where, why and how of it.

1965 was the year we moved into our own house in La Verne, California and built a pool in our backyard. As was our way, we built boats out of my mother's patio furniture. She must have voiced her frustration loud and often enough to get my father working towards a solution.

He built us a motor boat by the diving board out of wood complete with a cabin below furnished with waterproof cushions. My mother had her patio furniture back and we had our permanently moored home (ship) away from home. We slept, ate, played and worked on our boat night and day all summer long.  The only reason to come into the house was to go to the bathroom or get dressed for church.

Fast forward to 1984. Bill and I bought a brand new home on Skyblue Mesa in Santa Clarita, California. One of Bill's clients was California Pools and I was just itching to have our own pool in the backyard.  So we did it.  My fond memories of my childhood were alive and well on Dorothy Street and I wanted the same memories for my children.  I am grateful that my father was an artist, a civil engineer and handy with tools because he must have passed it onto me.  So not long after the pool was completed, I dove into this project.

I planned to build a sailboat that was twice as big as my dad's boat -- I have twice as many kids!  Every morning about 7:00 I would pile all of the kids that were in residence (I usually had at the very least one or two extras and sometimes more -- time before seat belt laws) into my blue VW Vanagon and head off to Lumber City.  I would buy as much as I could afford and put into the van.  We measured and sawed and hammered and sanded and painted.   The kids and I learned how to use power tools.  I had originally planned to place it on the end of the pool by the shallow water, but when I realized that it would obstruct my full view of the pool from my kitchen window I knew we had to move it to the side of the pool.  So we all hopped in to the water and moved it -- there was no way this boat would not sink in water it was so heavy!

Twenty-four feet by five feet and three decks -- this boat was definitely bigger than the boat of my childhood.  We set the mainmast complete with a boom and pulleys for the sheets (that is sailor speak for ropes) and rigging.  I sewed and grommeted a mainsail and a jib from sheets (the  bed kind).  My dad (Grandpa Mattingly) added the finished touch a real wooden wheel and a ship's radio.  Below deck was a galley and sleeping quarters in the stern.  This sailboat was ready.  

And so were my kids and me!  We stowed our gear below -- an ice chest full of drinks, lunch and snacks, a cassette stereo, towels, sleeping bags and snorkeling equipment.  We weighed anchor, pushed off, and hoisted the sails.  The wind filled the sails and we were soon off and running upon the waters of our fantasies.

We set sail for places far away. "From Bissau to Palau in the shade of Avalong. From Fiji to Tiree, and isles of Ebony. From Peru to Cebu, feel the power of Babylon. From Bali to Cali, far beneath the Coral Sea." (Enya) Oh, what adventures we had those hot days. When it got too warm we would go overboard and swim and snorkel in the deep blue. We even slept on board on warm nights.   

We would only berth our ship to procure supplies or take on passengers (or use the restroom -- we were not allowed to pee in this ocean!) On one occasion (for the third birthday celebration for Jeff Soto, Jeff Thompson and Adam Risser) we were boarded by pirates!  We even decorated it with twinkle lights when we had a wedding reception in our backyard.

All boat owners know that regular maintenance is a must. So every year we would sand, paint, make repairs and sew new sails for a family work project. As the children got older we would vote as a family on whether we wanted to keep the boat -- and consequently commence the huge refurbishing project. The sailboat won out every year until Jeff, our youngest, was entering into Sierra Vista Junior High. That year, after a decade of yeahs, the vote was nay. Sadly we broke the boat up for firewood for Refugio.

What a great family tradition was started all because my mom wanted to sip iced tea by the pool in her chaise lounge and my dad actually paid attention!  Go figure?!  I am feeling wanderlust now that I have sailed on seas of memories.  I am thinking my grandkids would love to sail away with me -- what do you think?