Finishing first across the finish line in the 4th race. (Photo courtesy of Jamey Maher.)
In light and variable winds, under a scorching sun, and with temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, twenty-eight teams of sailors raced last weekend off the eastern shores of Lake Michigan. They were competing in a one design sailboat, the S2 7.9, a boat manufactured by S2 Yachts (now Tiara Yachts) of Holland, MI between 1974 and 1987. But here they were, skippers and crew, traveling from all parts of North America, trailering their 30+ year-old-boats to compete in the annual Class Championship Regatta.
In the fleet of twenty-eight boats, I had eyes for only one, that which was commandeered by my eighty-six-year-old friend, Don Bergman, his wife, Jean, (together, a legend among racers across North America), her two sons, David and Jamey, and my husband, Rubin. With an average age that exceeded seventy-one years, this team managed a first-place finish in one of the five races held over the weekend. They placed seventh overall.
I am not celebrating the first-place finish—although that is a truly remarkable feat—nor the overall finish. I am celebrating an eighty-six-years-old man who still shows up, determined to live a life defined by that which gives him joy. I am honoring a team that shows up, too . . . a group of people committed to supporting another’s dreams. And I am saluting a class of sailboats that appears to be irreplaceable.
This is the kind of story from which songs are written.
*Lyrics from the Toby Keith song “As Good As I Once Was.”
Title suggested by Rubin.
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