Commander 227

[Commander227]

So sad to call it early this year.
The Ensign in the picture, Tranquility, is my Dad's boat that he bought new in 1965 and has raced every year since. Dad worked for Honeywell as a EE and bought the boat with his overtime earnings while working on an escape system for one of the Apollo missions. ($2,200. w/o sails) the mission he worked on landed in the Sea of Tranquility on the moon, giving her her name. six of us kids learned to love sailing on this boat. Dad would let us take her out by ourselves when we turned 13 if we could pass his test. In those days before jet skis it was a thrill. Great lessons on independence and responsibility.
We had our last Ensign race last Thursday. At 85 dad no longer sails without a crew so we pulled her early as well. It was nice to get them cleaned up and put away in nice weather.
Not sure why the pictures are upside down...