Setting Sail to Felicity

By Catherine Canzani

Having spent most of my life in the Sutton region, I’ve become accustomed to being in the role of “host” to our many valued tourists. So it was a big switch for my family and I to hop on a plane, destination Florida, to take our turn at being tourists.

As our plane rocketed down the runway and made its rumbling ascent into the sky, I wondered if I would find the perfect idea for an article about felicity – the state of being joyful and content.

It didn’t take long. When we arrived in Florida, we were met by my beaming parents who took great pleasure in showing us all around their rented condo, the ocean view, the four swimming pools, the recreation centre, and the marina.

Life on the sailboat

When we arrived at the marina my father became animated. “Do you see that huge sailboat with the wooden mast?” he asked me. “Sure,” I replied. My dad led me down the pier, closer to the impressive 50-foot sailboat named the “Ever-Free”. “That’s our boat. The one I’ve been telling you about.” I wracked my brain to remember. Oh yes, my dad had gone sailing with a big group of friends the Saturday before.

“This boat was built by Captain Ray,” my father explained with awe in his voice. Standing there, side by side on the pier, he told me the story.

The " Ever Free "

Captain Ray was an insurance executive who lived in Ohio. He had always loved sailing and had started learning the ropes as a boy. As he got older, he began to study plans for how to build a boat. His dream was huge. He decided to build a 50-foot, steel sail boat in his backyard. The only problem was that he knew nothing about welding. So he taught himself to weld and began construction.

The building of the boat went on for twenty years, even as people snickered and made jokes about the crazy guy who was building the boat in his backyard. Captain Ray was living his dream – and he was dreaming of the day when his ship would take sail on her maiden voyage.

The day was almost there. The captain had his boat, the “Ever-Free”, transported from Ohio all the way to Gulfport, Florida, where her rigging would be professionally done. She was almost ready.

Then tragedy struck. Captain Ray suffered a debilitating heart attack which left him weak and ill. He was discouraged, but worked on getting well so he could carry on with his plans. Tragedy struck again. This time, he fell and broke his hip and needed extensive surgery. Doctors told him that he would never walk freely again. Captain Ray could only hobble around with the help of a walker.

The pain of his lost dream was too much for him. He sank into a deep depression; as far as he was concerned, his life was over. Nothing could shake the man’s sadness, not even the beautiful Florida sunshine.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear much more of this depressing tale. I had come to Florida to live life to the fullest and to be happy. But my dad continued.

A group of sailors from the region heard about Captain Ray and decided to take action. They knew that the only way to restore the captain’s love of life was to help him to live his dream. They made a pact that they would take the captain out sailing every Saturday.

That first Saturday they lowered him into the boat carefully, using the bosun’s chair attached to the boom, and hoisted him on board. There he took his seat at the helm. His hands curled around the boat’s wooden steering wheel, which he had crafted himself, and as they set sail he broke into song, singing sailing songs in his deep burly voice, the joy slowly bubbling up from his chest. He sailed his ship on the sails of felicity – knowing he had been given another chance to do what he loved most.

My eyes felt very full as my dad ended his story and invited me to get closer to the boat. “The boat has a galley, and a forward double berth, and a rear double berth. I can sail the mizzen sail, and Captain Ray taught me to steer by compass!” he exclaimed. All the sailing terms were lost on me – but the joy in my dad’s voice was pretty clear. He too had found something valuable, thanks to Captain Ray and his crew of fearless sailors.

I think Felicity is achieved when we follow our dreams and see them to fruition – and isn’t it beautiful to get a little help along the way?