J. D. Salinger:  “Mothers are all slightly insane.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson:  “Nature is a mutable cloud which is always and never the same.”

Ol’ Philosophizer:  “What did he say?”

Mothers may claim that they love all of their children equally and unconditionally, but can anyone dispute the proposition that many bestow the most care and attention on the more ill-behaved of the brood? OK, maybe that assertion isn’t a fact that can be applied universally, but with the Malden Yacht Club, that contention, like our capsized kayaks, definitely holds water. Mother Nature treats us well, very well indeed! Whether it’s ice floes for “hide and seek” in the winter, or consecutive months of warm waters and sultry breezes in the summer, Mother Nature is always there with care for the rascally retro-adolescents of the Malden Yacht Club, and we take every opportunity we can to exhaust both ourselves and her treasures. Yes, Mother Nature is overly generous with her gifts to her prodigal paddlers, but I have to wonder if somewhere down the line, there just might be a tiny price to be paid. Continue reading ‘Squall Sounds’ »

John Calvin:  “You must submit to supreme suffering in order to discover the completion of joy.”

Berthold Auerbach:  “The little dissatisfaction which every artist feels at the completion of a work forms the germ of a new work.”

It’s been almost a month since I posted on the Malden Yacht Club Blog, so I feel like I should do something to appease the gods of the internet. You know, something short of writing “All Hail Google!” Maybe what I ought to do is ferret out some inconsequential internet information, and then use that info to introduce my post, regardless of whether it pertains to what I‘m about to write. Yeah, that ought to keep my hard drive from crashing … so here goes. According to Wikipedia, “the Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration, was a period starting in the 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans engaged in intensive exploration of the world, establishing direct contacts with Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania and mapping the planet.” Hmmm, I must admit that this sounds like an ambitious undertaking to me. What’s more, with the close of a Malden Yacht Club exploration at hand, it puts me in a contemplative mood. How would history have turned out if all of these explorers had been progenitors of the Malden Yacht Club? Scary thought, isn’t it? Almost as scary as “All Hail Google.” Continue reading ‘Oh Crap! I’m Contemplating Completing Champlain’ »

Kenneth Graham:  “There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Woody Allen:  “Basically my wife was immature. I’d be at home in the bath and she’d come in and sink my boats.”

It was 101 degrees in the shade, so I could have been hallucinating. The day had been a taxing one, though it ended pleasantly enough with a spirited water cannon bombardment that highlighted the evening’s trip to the lighthouse. An early summer heat wave had settled over the Northeast, and the veteran paddlers of the Malden Yacht Club resorted to old tricks to diminish its effect. The floating water gun fight, long a staple of late July and early August paddles, made its debut earlier this year as we did our best to thwart Mother Nature’s mistimed gift of warmth. The relief was instantaneous, but the added exertions of following fleeing fellows in a freely flowing following sea quickly drew down our energy reserves. Then there was the swimming at the lighthouse, a paddle back to the park through a stiff breeze more at home on the savannahs, and the fire quenching chugging of several nectars of the gods, all of which contributed to that warm and fuzzy feeling one gets at the successful conclusion of a withering but worthwhile day. So yes, it’s possible that I may have been hallucinating … but I wasn’t. Continue reading ‘A Kon-Tiki Contraption’ »

Robert M. Hutchins:  “When I feel like exercising I just lie down until the feeling goes away.”

William Cowper:  “How much a dunce that has been sent to roam, excels a dunce that has been kept at home.”

This week, the Malden Yacht Club Race Team made its official debut at the Towpath Regatta in Scotia. Featuring eleven paddlers and a support crew of five, these Madman clad adventurers roamed north and then west to race east and then feast. This would be a startling departure from the laidback nature of our group of retro-adolescents, a group that tries to avoid any semblance of ambition or goal orientation. Although it is true that we had previously entered two wacky raft races, those efforts had been made to prove how wacky we were, and we were rewarded by being crowned the wackiest of wacky. But this new race would be strictly a race, with the sole purpose of getting from Point A to Point B in the least amount of time possible. Along the way, pounding hearts, raspy breathing, eyes stung from perspiration, fatigued limbs, and lingering fears of vascular explosions and muscular implosions would compete for soothing thoughts from the racers’ brains. Does this sound like a good time to you? Continue reading ‘A Bypath To The Towpath’ »

Earlier this month, I missed an anniversary. It wasn’t the first anniversary I’ve missed, nor will it be the last. Nor does this particular date rate nearly the attention that the date of the Ol’ P nuptials, or birth dates of our progeny would merit. Truthfully, it probably isn’t a date that has any meaning to anyone other than me … but to me it is an important date. You see, folks, that date marks the beginning of my travels down a new path in life, a path that I have followed regularly for over a dozen years, and hope to follow for at least another dozen. Sit back, and I’ll tell you all about it. Continue reading ‘“Those Guys From Malden”’ »