I discovered a letter today that I had written to my dear mother from Buzzards Bay away back in 1979, when I was news director of WOCB Radio…

Hi Mom, yesterday was such a pretty spring day here on Old Cape Cod, I decided to celebrate with my first sailing adventure on the Sound. So I tied a bandana around my head and drove to Sun Fish Rental on the shore of the Bass River, where I was asked if I knew how to sail. As you know I had never sailed before, but I did remember what Uncle Bo once told me, “The pointy end is the front.”

So boldly I lied, “Yes.” (I will never tell another fib like that again…)

I was instructed to sail into the wind going out, with the wind on my way back home, and to be back before the rising tide at five. Thereupon, not unlike Captain Cook, I shoved off to where no man had gone before. I meant to make Nantucket mine, and I named my little Sun Fish the Endeavour! Well, I saw the Cape like no man has ever seen it before, at least no son of Barbara Layne’s.

Mesmerized and captivated by the wonder of it all, I lost track of time, and suddenly realized I needed to turn around to get back by five if lucky. So I swung the boom thingie around so fast that I got knocked almost into the water, but now we were heading with the wind back to Sun Fish Haven.

What I failed to take into account was the fact that when the tide rises the bridges lower themselves, and I had three of them to duck under. I cleared the first two, but I could see the Endeavour was going to be too tall to clear the third. So I determined to hike her over as far as I could and go for it. Well, for a fleeting moment it looked like we were going to make it, but the wind died beneath that third bridge, and the mast thingie shot straight up, impaling the bridge and pinning us there. As I was grabbing superstructure, I saw the tiller thingie float away, followed by the centerboard thingie.

A small crowd of Good Samaritans gathered atop the bridge and a few actually climbed down to help me free the Endeavour, and I blew them a kiss as we drifted free in the direction of Sun Fish Haven, where they had launched a crew to find us.

Don’t tell Uncle Bo, Mom, but that tiller doodah and centerboard doodah cost me $85. And yet I should feel lucky, for as Captain Cook met his maker on a beach over there in the Sandwich Islands, I arrived home from my circumnavigation to a Cape Cod Cocktail in front of a warm fire…

Much love and good fortune from your son the sailorman…