Issue date
Stewart Green of Ramsgate, Kent in the United Kingdom writes…
It all started in a distant land renowned for it’s sand and desert, rather than for it’s water, and ended up with a coincidence that still makes me think how very small the world really is.
In 1978, I was working in Jubail, on the north-east coast of Saudi Arabia. A real experience, but at times quite boring with not many of the usual outlets that we’re all used to enjoying at home.
As usual at the weekend, my flat-mate and I were kicking around on the beach, when, in the scrub and bushes at the back of the beach, we found the dusty old wreck of a 14-foot Enterprise sailing dinghy – “Poor old thing.” says I, “Shall we do it up?”.
Neither of us knew a sheep-shank about sailing, but being pretty good DIY-ers, we thought we’d give it a go. So, after a bit of persistent sleuthing to find the owner, and the offer/acceptance of a paltry £50 or so, ‘Spinney’ (as the faded name painted on the bow introduced us) was ours!
After dragging her (she was a 'her' even by now!) out of the scrub, and after weeks and weeks of devoted stripping ‘n’ cleaning, scraping, scrubbing, rejuvenating, sanding, varnishing, and renewing of almost all of the fittings from every visit back to the UK, we had a fabulous, spanking, shining, brand new boat!.........OK, marvellous, great! .....but now what??!
Neither of us had a frigging clue about sailing, but (being typical Hearts-of-Oak Brits from a famous maritime nation) we took to the waves like ducks to the slaughter! And spent the next few weekends pirouetting and capsizing all over the place! – we became world famous in Jubail for providing hours of laughter for the ever-growing throng of those choosing to spend a day on the beach to watch these suicidal aquatic acrobatics!
Until one day, with tears in his eyes, a spectator stepped forward, and (drawing lines in the sand) taught us the basic principles of wind & sail – Eureka!!! Every weekend was thence-forth an unending pleasure that made life & work in the country worth every minute. Others in our circle of friends also joined the newly-formed “Jubail Sailing Club” (only 8 members and 1 boat!) which, by now, had it’s own printed t-shirts, emblazoned complete with the Club’s full name and dashing logo! Happy days, racing against ourselves (with each “crew” being timed around marker-bouys), fishing (catching HUGE Groupers for the beach bar-b-q; from sea to stomach in less than 2 hours!), or simply idling along in a sun-bathing-sprawl with just the toe-tips resting on the tiller! Marvellous times for almost 2 years.
10 years later, in 1988, I was standing at a dark, deserted bus-stop in Honolulu airport (waiting at 4am for a bus connection to the domestic terminal) and just one other person came up to join the early morning “queue”. I happened to be wearing my Jubail Sailing Club t-shirt, and my queue-neighbour looked at the t-shirt and (in an Antipodean accent) proclaimed, “I didn’t know there was a Sailing Club in Jubail!” – as we waited, I told him our story, after which he told me his story; that he had also worked in Jubail, back in 1972, (6 years before I had arrived there) and how he had actually taken a small boat out to Saudi Arabia, all the way from his home in New Zealand, so he could continue enjoying his sailing hobby whilst working away.
At the time of this conversation, I had actually forgotten the name of our much-loved little boat, until (at a lonely bus-stop, 16 years later, and on the other side of the world) he quietly mentioned, just reminiscing to himself,……... “Yes……the boat’s name was ‘Spinney’.”
Stewart says; “I would really like to trace the New Zealand guy I spoke to at the bus-stop (see attached) all those years ago at 4am in Honolulu Airport.” If anyone can help please email the Briefings Editor on jodie@yachtingnz.org.nz
