my name

Saturday, low 40's but sunshine, power washing the deck and thinking about French solo and multihull sailors, those guys are fanatics. Wondering if I'm somehow related. My dad's family was from upstate Maine, very upstate, like on the border with Canada and he spoke only French until age 8. Ancestors came to Quebec in 1636 from Le Havre (where some of those French sailors I read about are from), settled Ile d'Orleans right outside Quebec City in the middle of the St Lawrence River, thinking they'd be safe from Indian attacks. Any ways they farmed the island, fished in the river, hunted in the woods and one was involved in first lawsuit recorded in Canada, some arguments about a moose someone shot on someone's property, no more details as it was settled out of court. I had an aunt who back in 1970's before the internet did the meticulous and time consuming genealogical research of my father's family, all the way back to France in 1590.

Always intrigued by that so finally visited Ile d'Orleans a couple years ago. Beautiful place. Went to graveyard of churches my family help found and saw generations of relatives who marked their gravestones with the French word for 'pilot'. I was struck by the prodigious quantity of river pilots with my surname. They were all river pilots on the St Lawrence in the days of sail and proud enough to announce that for eternity on their graves. They'd race down the river to meet vessels coming from Europe and escort them up the river known for its currents and shoals. Dangerous work back then. Guess they had to be fast to get their commission, wonder if that's why I like to race? Pretty island, lots of vacation homes. There's a little marina on the island today, maybe I'll cruise there someday when I'm too old to race.

Looking forward practicing on Viper tomorrow... then the phone range... Andy didn't get the keel in today so no Viper practice, bummed. We haven't sailed together and CRW is just a couple weeks away - need time on that boat before we race against serious competition.. ahh no worries for tomorrow at least, will race Lasers in Essex instead.