Saturday, March 30, 2013

Captain Jack


Captain Jack
As this picture was being taken he told the camera man  "don't hurry"......

You meet so many interesting people in the boating community.  Some young, some not so young, some with small children, many with animals and one in particular who is a bit of a fixture at Boot Key Harbor.

Captain Jack, is 91 years young.  He loves to give the ladies a Hibiscus flower and you can watch him walk around with the flower trying to decide who he will bestow it upon that day.  Some days you may be lucky and he'll give out two or even three which gives you a much better chance of being one of the favored ones that day.  Actually I don't know how he decides but I have been lucky enough to receive three during my time here.

He told me his story one day.  He arrived here in 1956. He was alone and broke sailing his sailboat up the keys, when he got caught in a terrible storm in the Atlantic.  He threw the anchor over the side on the Sombrero Reef and sat it out during a very frightening night.  He woke up the next day to a beautiful calm day only to find that his rudder had broken off during the storm and he was stranded on the reef.  Someone finally towed him into Boot Key Harbor. Knowing he would have to make some money to stay he started weaving and selling palm leaf hats.  He asked how much I thought he sold them for and then smiled and said $5.00, then he asked how much I thought they'd go for today and he again smiled and said $5.00.  Talk about inflation!!!!

He obviously did well enough with the hats to begin a life in Marathon.  He worked here, and for a while at a Miami boat yard, had a boat here, owned a home for a while and five years ago he bought his current boat and resides on the wall at Marathon City Marina. 

He walks the grounds every day, and rides his bike to the store for groceries just like all the other cruisers although he did complain a little about the 'darned wind' making that ride difficult (since none of us are as steady as we used to be). We were commiserating over the need to pull out those jeans when shorts are the normal attire, but he as they say "goes with the flow".  
Known, by all who use the facilities at the harbor by sight and by the very lucky, personally, he is a treasure and with 91 years of 'experience' very interesting to get to know.

1 comment:

  1. If Captain Jack had a dollar for every picture he has had taken with someone he would be a millionaire. Charles

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