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When only a boy, his dad put AJ into a boat, wished him luck and the rest is history! Today he's on the boats more than he's on the land - which seems to be the way he likes it! He and his father share the Love of the Sea...
Sea Fever
I must go down to the seas again,
to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship
and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song
and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face
and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again,
for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call
that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day
with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume,
and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again
to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way
where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn
from a laughing fellow rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream
when the long trick's over.
-- John Masefield
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A young man of the sea sails forward...
That was the headline of the article appearing in the Fort Lauderdale News, Thursday, September 11, 1980. Pictured above the Headliine is a young A.J. Anderson aboard the schooner Cyrano! You might not be familiar with the Cyrano, but you will probably be familiar with William F Buckley - author and journalist. It was on the Cyrano that Buckley sailed across the Atlantic Ocean sometime in the 1970s. That voyage was the basis of his book Airborne. How then...and why...was a 23 year old A.J. Anderson charged with the title 'skipper' of the Cyrano? It all started when A.J. was a youngster who just "didn't like baseball". "...I was better at that than baseball" says A.J. With his father, he completed his very first long ocean voyage as a teenager leaving Connecticut for West Palm Beach on a 37 foot sailboat. The rest, as they say, is history. Bob Johns, from Texas, purchased the Cyrano and A.J. became her skipper. AJ and his father share in the love for life on the water! |
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Grandpa Andy Anderson's "Sea Fever"
Grandpa Anderson was a commercial Air Lines Pilot, but his true love was for The Sea. His sail boat "Sea Fever" was his 'home'. Here Grandpa and Uncle A.J. enjoy "Sea Fever" together. |
Andy's Tribute Painting to Grandpa Anderson and "Sea Fever"
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Grandpa Anderson and Uncle A.J. aboard "Sea Fever"
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Grandpa Anderson's Burial at Sea
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Andy and his father Steve aboard "Sea Fever" when 3 yrs old
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Cpt. A.J. Anderson - "Skipper" of the Rasselas as she launches for her Maiden Voyage.
Although Grandpa Anderson and Andy were gone before the launching of AJ's pride and joy, there's no doubt that they were looking down upon the event...and smiling all the while. |
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