Friday, December 26, 2008

Ayala Sandbox


The concept of a Sandbox has been with me for as long as I can remember. I grew up in an age when your Mom took you to play in the park, and where you went was the sandbox. It was your world, and your imagination was the only thing that limited you.


They say that your conscious memories begin around age five. Standing on the deck of the Landfall II in Ayala Cove, at about that age, my world, my sandbox, was that cove on Angel Island.
I wanted to go ashore and play on the beach.
It would be years before I was able to do that.

3 comments:

EVK4 said...

That cove is a magical place...on a nice sunny day, it feels like the greatest beach on earth. I'm proud to say I've been sailing my daughter over there since she was 3.

Did your Grandfather's boat not have a dinghy? When were the docks built?

Captain John said...

I don't know when the (present) docks were installed; I don't remember them when I was 5-10. Grandfather believed children should be 'seen, not heard'. So our desire to go ashore wasn't fulfilled until I was about 8, and it wasn’t Ayala Cove. While anchoring in the cove between Pt. Campbell and Pt. Simpton, we were allowed to take the dinghy ashore. We played pirate games and explored the tide waters on the East side of Pt. Simpton. At the time, the point was wooded and we climbed up the steep cliff through the brush and small trees. It was marvelous.

The first time I set foot on the beach at Ayala Cove was after I acquired my first Tornado(s). I took the practice boat there and beached it when I was about 21. Ghosting through moored boats in a high performance Cat with a huge turning radius in variable winds was exciting -terrifying, I think for the yacht owners at moorings – they did not take kindly to the sight of our bows pointed in their direction.

Anonymous said...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009