White Swan II...Jeremy
and Monica
1977Chung Hwa Ketch Jump
to our Photo Gallery
Jeremy: If anyone had said to me three years ago "what would you think about living on a boat?" I would have to tell them that they are crazy.
July 3 2000 dressed in me khakis and button-up I climbed on a seaplane headed for Friday Harbor. My arm had been twisted and I reluctantly agreed to meet Mom on White Swan with her crew of Cliff, Aaron and Julie, and BJ and Trish on Nelle Bly, along with Grandma and Granddad and Uncle Fred on Dunrushn for the holiday.
I had no idea what to expect. However I can say that that weekend changed my life forever. The smell of the sea air, the gentle rocking of the boats. And above all, the relaxed nature of everyone at the docks. That weekend made me rethink my entire opinion of boaters. Maybe they aren’t as crazy as I thought.
Very soon after my weekend in paradise I decided that MAYBE there was something to the whole boating lifestyle. The very next winter I found myself shoveling snow off of my new home, a Catalina 30 named Storm Runner. She had no heat, a leaky water tank, a stove that didn’t work, and rigging that was so bad it couldn’t hold a breeze. And I was happy.
After many repairs and several weeks in Port Townsend, she was ready to sail. Only one problem, I didn’t know how…
So I motored.
And motored.
And motored.
Thanks to much help and many patient hours from BJ and Mom I eventually built up the courage and know-how to raise the sails. It took many more weeks before I figured out how to make poor Storm Runner go in the right direction, but eventually I kinda got it. Sort of…
Many mistakes later I
find myself the proud owner of White Swan II and the hap
py
husband of Monica. We are a long way from having a clue what we are doing. Or
knowing where we are headed, but we are having fun figuring it out. Not every
weekend is a vacation in paradise but every day does bring joy…
[Note from Mom: The entire
family was amazed at Jeremy's decision...after all he was the only family member
who had never enjoyed boating. He did as a young teenager sail the OK Dinghy on
the lake and row the boats at Gramma and Grandad's...but that was about it.]
Monica:
My name is Monica, I’m
a Romanian girl, and all my family is still in Romania. I have been here three
years. After I got married to Jeremy, I became a sailor. I had never lived on a
boat before; when I moved onto White Swan I was afraid that I couldn’t do it.
But now, I’m looking back and I realize that I really love living
on the boat, and it’s a lot of space , it’s not small like it was before. I think it’s a very romantic place to live in. About my sailing……
I’m still working on it!
Jeremy & Monica's Photo Galleries
Email Jeremy & Monica at WhiteSwan@FamilyYachtClub.com
Go to:
Glenn & Lorraine;
Cliff & Pamela;
BJ & Trish;
Aaron & Julie;
Clark &
Sue; Steve