I Sail Away

In 1964, a 16-year old boy set sail to circumnavigate the world by himself on a boat named “Dove.” The boat was a Lapworth L-24 Gladiator–basically a full-keep version of a Cal 25. There are a few of them still around, and I bought one.

The 16-year old made it around the world, although after he rounded Cape Horn, he decided he needed a bigger boat. I certainly don’t blame him (although he had already accomplished a MAJOR task of rounding the horn). All-in-all, it took him over 3 years to complete his trip.

This Gladiator is certainly not the boat I am going to take on the journey, but I will always have a soft spot for it. It was my first boat, and I bought it on the day of my 35th birthday.

Here is a picture of me, on my birthday, making the purchase.

The boat came with a blown spinnaker, worn sails, a nice spinnaker pole, the mast halyard stuck at the masthead, a nice sailing dinghy, a working 5hp motor, and quite a bit of miscellaneous junk.

This boat was to be my textbook for learning how to fix a sailboat. It would need just about everything repaired, checked or replaced.

It is the perfect place to begin.