Storm Sail

When I attended Boys State as a junior in high school at Indiana University Bloomington, the elected governor was Jim Grant from Columbia City. I was stunned coming from little Nappanee. A student politician from a neighboring city that was a sports rival had become the governor of my state. I had never given thought to such levels of competition.

Two years later we became Beta Theta Pi fraternity brothers. Although not close I continued to admire his academic talents. After college (quite a bit) we sailed a 26’ Balboa on Lake Wawasee. Through the mail I purchased a storm sail kit. Upon receiving it, the catalog gave a history of the company from California. Jim Grant founded it while living on an old wooden sailboat in a Chicago harbor while pursuing a graduate degree from University of Chicago. On that boat he started Sailrite. He moved back to Indiana and kept selling kits.

Saturday I was scraping caulk out of the 21’ SeaPearl I have traded down to and the neighbor’s weekend gardener asked if I had ever heard of Sailrite. She worked there. I said I had but couldn’t remember where. I Googled it and found a huge internet source of sailing products. The company is located in land locked Churubusco, Indiana, in its second generation of Grants. I typed in Sea Pearl 21 and a new mizzen sail kit is $279.00. I’m tempted again. Check out this amazing story of entrepreneurship. http://www.sailrite.com/

I never finished the storm sail; in fact the masking tape outline is still half way on my basement floor.