I said goodbye to the family boat today. Her name is Summer Sky.
I saw her “born” from the mould 31 years ago.
I was my Dad's 'mouse' in the days when I could get into all her nooks and crannies to hold tools and thread wires and this and that.
Summer Sky treated us well in some very nasty conditions. She took Dad to every corner of Moreton Bay; north to Yeppoon and south to Yamba.
When my Dad passed away, he left me as her caretaker. My three sisters saw it as me getting something extra. I just saw it as a responsibility.
I've held on to Summer Sky and honoured her and my late Dad for a couple of years. But came the day I had to say goodbye to her as I have another boat.
In this day and age, good old boats have lost a lot of their charm. It came down to – not a matter of a business transaction – but rather, finding a suitable new caretaker for this good old boat.
Fate intervened through this Forum and now, Summer Sky is in very capable and loving hands.
Her new humans love her and will listen to her and rub her and talk and sing to her just as I did, and just as Dad and Mum did. Our sailing family has also extended and I will never lose touch with Summer Sky.
Thanks to my friends on this Forum who made this possible. I love you all!!
