It Seems like my cousin, Dan, has always been at my side.  As kids growing up, we spent many holidays hanging out and have always enjoyed being around each other.   During summers, our parents would arrange for us to spend time together since we lived 45 miles apart.  We would experiment with our chemistry sets and cause explosions and yes, we played with fire at times.   We have enjoyed shooting guns together and some great camping adventures. Heck, we were each other's best man at our weddings. 

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Back around 2003, Dan purchased an 18’ Prindle Racing Catamaran.   From time to time he needed someone to crew with him, so I got the chance to go out with him.   I found sailing to be very spiritual.  Having lost my son in 2002, sailing was just an awesome time to be still before the Lord.   The sound of the water hitting the hull and wind filling the sails was like worship music on a Sunday to my ears.   Dan sold his sailboat later on to get some jet skis for his family to enjoy, but one thing we never tried before it sold was entering a race together.

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Well, let’s jump forward to August of 2012.  While spending time with our families together at Pismo Beach for a weekend, I shared with Dan and our wives that one item on my bucket list was to enter the High Sierra Regatta sailboat race with him.  At first Dan seem surprised, but later he asked if I was serious.  I stated I was very serious.  I shared that I would like to race with him at my side at the High Sierra Regatta (Huntington Lake) in 2014.  We don’t have to win, just compete. 

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We began talking about what kind of boat we would like to find and I learned that Dan missed sailing and was very interested in my idea of becoming partners in a boat together. So we came up with a budget plan that our wives supported and started searching around.  Two weeks later Dan found an add for a 1969 Venture 21 named the Melinda Lee that seemed to fit our budget.   We headed up to Rio Vista, CA to meet the boat owner, Chris, and her husband.  After careful review we felt that this was the boat project for us and purchased the boat/trailer.  On the drive home we acted like those two cousins that grew up making plans as kids.  We talked about what we wanted to fix on the boat and looked forward to getting it on the water.  We know we have much to learn about boat repairs and sailing but we have 1.5 years to figure it out before we enter the High Sierra Regatta.

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Below you can see the transformation in pictures from the “Melinda Lee” to the 1969 Venture 21 now named “II Cousins”.  We sold II Cousins and purchased a Hotfoot 20 and named it Andiamo and are practicing up for the 2017 High Sierra Regatta.