A fellow cruiser came up to me at the cruiser’s BBQ in Dominica with the most random question I could imagine, “Do you know Jim Butler?” Hell yes, I know Jim Butler.

Rick was a college room mate of Jim’s. Jim was in my classes at Barnes JHS and Fairmont West HS. We were also in boy scouts together.

Rick made the connection on Facebook and recognized me from some pictures. Talk about a small world. It’s hard to hide, even in remote locations on a boat.

Jim doesn’t know this but he had a hand in my sailing life. Jim, Dean Jewel and other friends had a pretty good band in the seventh grade, the Victorians. Jim’s older brother was the bass player at times but he grew tired of playing with younger kids. I was just starting to play guitar and was told I could be in the band if I bought a bass guitar. The summer between seventh and eighth grade, I cut lawns like crazy and earned $250. Some lawns paid only $1.50 to put that amount of money in perspective.

It was still not quite enough to buy a guitar and amp but Dad reluctantly said he would foot the rest of the bill. Dad hated rock and roll, “It will never lasts…..” When school started in the fall, the Victorians had broken up. Good thing I hadn’t bought the bass guitar yet. Or perhaps not.

We spent a few weeks every summer at my grandparent’s cottage on Base Lake, near Ann Arbor, MI. There we had a dumpy, old sailboat and were all just learning to sail. It was so slow, we would spit in the water to see if we were actually moving. A friend down the beach had a battered Sailfish. We loved to go out in it and tip it over. Upside down, it was a great swimming platform.

I spent the bass guitar money on a wood Sunfish kit. It cost $244. The fiberglass Sunfish cost $305. I couldn’t afford the fiberglass one. I bet I bought the last wood Sunfish kit made by Alcort, it was 1965. I’m pretty sure I spent at least $50 on paint and other finishing materials. Dad helped out on much of this. He was very happy I bought a boat instead of a bass guitar.

I loved that boat! It was a magic machine for me. When I could drive, taking girls sailing was my favorite date. In college, I had a nasty but lucrative job. I spend some of it on an Olympic class Flying Dutchman. From there I bought Veloce (Laser 28) which we sailed and raced for 25 years on Lake Michigan. We estimate we sailed 1,200 races on Veloce! Then Uproar came to our dock 12 years ago. Now she is home.

Jim, you played a small part. OK, I could have been a rock star and made the Victorians famous. At the BBQ in Dominica last night, at least I partied like a rock star!