PAGE 8 • SUMMER 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION SUMMER 2007 • PAGE 9
LIVING THE DREAM • WIFE OF A SAILIN’ MAN
By Jane E. Nichols
T
he sailor said, “Brandy, you’re a
fine girl. What a good wife you
would be. But my life, my lover, my
lady is the sea.” (Dooda-dit-dooda), (Dit-
dooda-dit-dooda-dit).
Do you remember that song from the 70s
called Brandy? Well, I blame two local
past San Luis Yacht Club Commodores,
Captain Rob Bollay and Captain Kirk
Miller, for making me the deserted wife of
a seafarin’ sailorman who’s surely in love
with the sea.
My husband, Captain Gary Nichols, began
his love of all things windy on water in
1996 when we purchased a home on San
Luis Obispo’s beautiful, albeit breezy,
Laguna Lake. The winds there were often
too gusty for our red Navarro canoe, yet
perfect for the wee sailboat Gary found at
a garage sale. We called it Buzz, as in buzzing around on
the backyard lake. Gary learned to sail it with a video
from the local library. Once mastering tiny Buzz, that
only the dog would ride in with him, Gary approached a
(Above) With water as
high school chum about their 17-foot O’Day that sat
close as the backyard,
abandoned on a Whittier driveway. Gary had enjoyed
Gary Nichols found sailing
sailing days in it in the 70s. It soon found a new watery
hard to resist. (Right)
home at our dock. It was a fine, cozy sailboat, but after
Sailing aboard the tall
further instructions from Rob, Gary got his certification
ship, Lady Washington,
better known to some as
to be an ASA Sailing Instructor and a Captain’s License,
the Interceptor in Pirates
so the need for a larger boat seemed like a natural
of the Carribean, has been
step—to him.
one of Gary’s latest
adventures.
I arrived home from work one day to find a very large
25-foot MacGregor perched high on a trailer in our front
yard. Gee, I didn’t recall a conversation about that! It
was a great sailboat with a wonderful pop-up cabin top.
We enjoyed taking our newly born daughter Sarah on several years now she has resided in a slip of the Morro
cruises about Morro Bay. Our photo announcement of Bay Marina. We have seen the Fourth-of-July fireworks
Sarah’s arrival in 1997 shows the three of us, plus our display from it every year, even last year when Gary had
Siberian Husky Nikita, beaming from the bow of the Sea cracked his ribs in a biking mishap earlier that day. He
Jane with Morro Rock in back. didn’t want to disappoint us.
You sailors all know what happens next. Once you find As a sailing instructor for the Santa Barbara Sailing
that perfect dream boat, you are immediately in pursuit Center and for private individuals, Gary averages 75 days
of a bigger, better boat on the horizon just calling your per year on the water. With only 52 weekends in the
name. Two boats weren’t quite enough so we found year, this explains why we regularly miss the Yacht Club’s
ourselves having a look at a nice 25-foot O’Day in search Friday night dinners and Sunday brunches. The man is
of a new home. This time I went along. We liked her never home. And sailing is his side job!
immediately, and Scout was soon ceremoniously
christened with champagne as our Sarah Jane. For
continued on page 22
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12