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It’s good to see one get away.

“Opus” and crew departed Oriental on Election Day.

More than a few folks from the inland parts of North Carolina come to Oriental to sail — or at least, visit — their boats on weekends. For years, that was the case for Jim and Linda Gay and their young daughter, Jennifer. They would come down to Oriental many weekends after their work week at IBM near Raleigh. And as with many other weekend sailors, talk would turn to someday not driving back to Apex on Sunday night, but staying on the boat and sailing away.

In November, the Gay family did exactly that.

Jennifer, Linda and Jim Gay just before leaving Oriental — and land-life — in November.

Last summer, Jim got a leave of absence from IBM. Linda asked for one too, but when it didn’t come through, she decided to just quit. Talking with her on the morning of their Election Day departure, Linda practically shouted out a laugh when asked if she missed the work. There are some, she says, who’d ask, ‘How can you quit a good job?’ To which she says, “I’m happy. I should’ve done it years ago.” Their extended families were skeptical about them casting off, but Jim and Linda and Jennifer were primed and ready to go.

Jim and Linda’s story began on Jordan Lake. It wasn’t quite a blind date but more of a “set up” by mutual friends, in which Linda went out on one boat and Jim on another. There was a bit of shouting back and forth over the water.

Opus, a Vancouver 25, and home to the family of three.

Fast forward: They got married. Sailed on a Tanzer for a while. Jennifer was born. About 9 years ago, they bought the Vancouver 25, “Opus” (after it met Jim’s criteria for having enough headroom so that he could pull on his pants standing up.) The boat came with the name. When he learned what he meant, Jim says he decided to keep it because, “it fits. It is a piece of work.”

Opus and her crew became a familiar sight up Smith’s Creek where the Gays kept the boat for years and out on the Neuse river, sailing. (“Opus” got away from the dock more than most boats here…) A few years ago, the Gays hauled “Opus” out and brought her to their yard in Apex. Jim says that for a year and a half, they took the boat apart and then put her back together again.

The boat that Jim describes as “short and squat with a big old wide ass,” is actually a lot of boat for its 25 foot length and 8-1/2 foot beam. A sea-worthy vessel, she’s laid out surprisingly spaciously down below.

A little privacy on board “Opus.”

On Election Day, just hours before setting out from Oriental, the Gays showed off their living space they were about to share on the 25-foot boat.

A shower curtain track helps delineate a pilot berth in to a separate space for Jennifer. Forward, the family has packed light, stacking all of their clothing in large Ziploc bags in the locker. Linda wanted to “bring tons of books” but settled on a half dozen, figuring they could trade them.

Clothing for three. Traveling south to warmer climes has its advantages.

The family holds a special reverence for one spot on the boat: the space near the V-berth where another long-time crew member used to sleep. Kayla, a dolphin-detecting little dog — and one-time Pet of the Month — died a few months before the Gays began their trip.

Kayla’s space. The longtime companion and crew member had died last year.

Jennifer is being home-schooled while onboard. Now age 11, the family has taken her on sailboats since she was 5 weeks old.

Jim has had this idea of living aboard for some time and this trip may take him to his birthplace if the crew finds its way to Puerto Rico. Jim’s father was in the Navy when Jim was born at El Morro castle in San Juan.

Jennifer Gay and her dad, Jim as “Opus” was about to leave Oriental.

A few hours before taking off, Linda confided: “I don’t like to sail.” She quickly added that she “didn’t mind being on a sailboat.” Not what you often hear from someone about to live in the shadow of a mast. But Linda, a Minnesota-native, explained that she likes camping and sees living aboard as close to that. As much as she may be a reluctant sailor, she is not a reluctant adventurer.

Asked if this extended camping trip might take them around the world, Jim laughed and said, “I hope not.” For the time being, the family had no fixed plans other than to head south and keep sailing “as long as it’s fun.”

Linda and Jim Gay.

They are keeping a blog of their adventure and as of mid-February, had arrived in the Exumas.

Posted Tuesday February 17, 2009 by Melinda Penkava

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