Standing on the deck of our new home, a ketch-rigged sailing vessel docked in VA, my husband, Ken, and I were watching as a young man ambled off down the dock. We had just completed a typical dockside conversation; he in the role of interested passerby, and we as informative boat owners hoping to sail the seven seas. Suddenly he stopped, turned on his heel, and laughingly called to us, “You know, this may be the only time I’ll ever see a sailor from Iowa”.
Ken and I had gradually grown accustomed to routine questions of tourists, local townspeople, and fellow yachtsmen who enjoy strolling the docks. There was a time when we, too, were in the role of passersby. As new owners of the “Pious Puffin”, a Dutch Boyer, we were aware that her uniqueness sometimes brought more questioning than did conventional crafts. And when questions turned to the whereabouts of our former home, we were sure to be in for the sight of raised eyebrows, and, hear further queries.
This remark, however, was a new wrinkle. It had been no surprise to learn that many Iowans were not aware of the ‘surge to the sea’ of people now living on water all over the world. This was the ‘other side of the coin.’ Picturing the consternation of our midwestern sailing friends, were they to hear this, the ‘latest gem of dockside observations’, we doubled over with laughter. Was even the Puffin’s crew unique?