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Line zig-zags close to the ceiling of Abby Normal’s cabin, so that steady balance is just a hand hold away.

Abby Normal’s forward hatch was enlarged to make it easier for Cliff to maneuver.
and close to her cabin ceiling he strung line, port-to-starboard. That makes for easy grabbing to catch his balance.

The smaller space on the boat works in his favor. “I think it’s easier living on a boat than an apartment,” Cliff says. “There’s always something to grab onto.”

Cliff Kyle atop his Pearson 26, Abby Normal at the Oriental Town Dock.

“It’s mostly hands and butt while I’m on the boat, but I’m always lower to the ground than most sailors.”

In the cockpit, Cliff has arranged food, water, PFD’s and much more within arm’s reach. There are still modifications to be done. For instance, he wants to run all of Abby Normal’s lines into her cockpit.

A cockpit with things close by.

One particular upgrade in the cockpit resulted from something Cliff had posted on social media, where he’s been very active, writing about his travels.

Cliff and the orthopedically enhanced carbon fiber tiller.

A few months ago, he wrote online about cracks in his tiller. One of those reading his posting was an orthopedic surgeon. The doctor performed an operation on the tiller that turned the wooden tiller in to a carbon fiber one.

On his way south, Cliff’s met some of his readers. “And we’re becoming friends,” he says. “It’s nice to meet people you’ve been talking with on Facebook.”

The boat’s name, Abby Normal may sound familiar to those who, like Cliff, are fans of’ “Young Frankenstein.” It comes from a plot line in the Mel Brooks movie.

In that same Brooksian spirit, Cliff Kyle says he plans to rename Abby Normal’s dinghy. Its transom currently carries the name, “Wispy.” Cliff wants to change it to “’Island Hopper” and he says he even knows how he wants the font to look on the dinghy’s transom: with the ‘I’ in Island and the ‘HOP’ in Hopper capitalized. He pauses, smiles, and waits for his wordplay to sink in.

On one of the last days of 2015, Cliff and Abby Normal pushed off from the Oriental Town Dock under power of a 9.6 motor. He is aiming for warmer winter weather in St. Augustine, Florida and if possible, the Bahamas.

Cliff on Abby Normal and the dinghy to be (formally) named later. The boat carries a few burgees with pirate themes. He’s hoping to add more.

Needing some mast work done, Cliff provided the muscle at the base of the mast… hoisting up a fellow cruising sailor to the top. (Will Flannery photo)

Navigating by thermometer, Cliff Kyle motors out of Oriental’s harbor, on his way to Florida.

Cliff Kyle.

Cliff Kyle passed away February 10, 2019. We were fortunate to have met him.

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Posted Monday January 4, 2016 by Keith N. Smith

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