Finding Destiner

My belated passage through an arc of visibility

I began to write this unusual story more than a decade ago—an account of my search for the schooner Destiner, at the same time I was becoming acquainted with the man who designed and built her—my dad. After he passed in late 2012, I lacked the emotional energy needed to wrap up the final chapters. I’d only gotten to know him and his boats later in life, since I was still in diapers when my parents divorced. Many years sailed by before I eventually tracked him down.

So, yes, it’s a story of a boat and of getting to know the man, and admittedly even myself. The story will appear here. The original chapters as written were a bit long, so I need to break it up some to make it a little more newsletter-friendly. I’ll arrange things so that readers can dive in anywhere, with quick links to the start, as well as “Next” and “Previous” chapters.

By the way, if you stumble on my story and happen to know something about the boat’s early days, I’d love it if you got in touch. Destiner was launched at Morro Bay, California, in March 1964. She sailed the South Pacific for a time before returning to her home port at Shelter Island, San Diego.