Ann Hamilton’s first sailboat ride was aboard Skybird, her stepfather Towney’s Alberg 30. Towney, a life-long sailor began to teach Ann, her sister, and her mom about sailing in the mid-1980s. A few years ago Skybird transferred hands, when Towney, who recently celebrated his 89th birthday, felt it was time. Ann says, “I’ve seen how much joy sailing has brought to Towney, and we frequently enjoyed the close, strong community of Albergers around the house in Round Bay.”
Finding a boat at the SpinSheet Crew Parties
Ann continues, “I took up paddleboarding a couple of years ago, and last summer on a visit to Solomons I found SpinSheet. Though I’d been on Skybird many times, I’d never crewed in a race. I decided I really wanted to race this year. In the magazine I saw an ad for the Crew Parties and decided I’d attend the party in the early spring to find a boat for this summer. Towney joined me at the Baltimore event, and my mom, Joan, and he both came along to the Annapolis event.”
Ann says, “The Crew Parties are a lot of fun and the perfect way to find a match, with a bunch of boats looking for crew and lots of crew looking for boats.” Ann and Towney met SpinSheet staffer Eric Richardson at the Baltimore event. Eric was just about to begin his second season of racing and was still building a list of regular crewmembers for his Shock 35 Blinding Fury. “Eric was welcoming and kind and was looking for crew. He said his crew members were all about my age, so I’d fit right in. We liked Eric’s laidback style and thought Blinding Fury would be a great boat on which to learn. So I signed up!”
Continue reading Start Sailing Now: Learning to Race Sailboats Broadened Her Life
Courtesy of SpinSheet
