After paying more than $4,000 to have his sunken sailboat raised Tuesday, Jeff Bryde decided it was time to give up the expensive hobby.
After four years of being in dry land storage, Bryde decided to put his sailboat back in the water this summer. After some trouble getting it back in condition, he only got to sail it once in the season. Sunday, he found it was no longer floating.
“The storm kind of put it on the bottom there,” said Bryde, who said he was first shocked when he noticed the boat was underwater. That turned into being depressed when he got the estimate for raising it, then to shock and depression when he got the final bill.
Bryde has owned the 1973 21-foot clipper since 1985 when he bought it for $5,500.
“I was married with two small kids and it was ideal,” said Bryde. “It was actually my pride and joy, I’ve got a lot of fond memories.”
Bryde decided to give away the boat when one of the Diving Dynamics crew told him he knew someone who would take it off his hands.
“I wasn’t too sure if there was any structural damage and if that was the reason it sank,” said Bryde, who said the sinking was the latest in a series of problems.
Not long after he put it back in the water this summer, he found it with the mast fallen. That was repaired, but earlier this year, he found it had broken loose from its moorings and was pinned under a wharf.
“I am going through a lot of issues with my sailboat,” said Bryde. “Being retired now, I was planning on spending my leisure time on the lake.”
Bryde is taking the loss of his boat and retirement plans in stride.
“Things happen and you hope the bad things don’t continue,” said Bryde. “You take whatever is given to you.
“I’m not going to have to worry about where I was going to moor my boat.”
It’s not the first boat he has lost. He also lost a kayak on Mission Creek after being turned over in fast-moving water. He managed to get free and make it to shore, but the kayak drifted on down the creek and was never found.
“Maybe I should stay off the water for a while,” Bryde joked. “There’s never a dull moment in my life. For some reason, I keep getting adventures.”
Steve Kidd
Senior reporter, Penticton Western News
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