uke asked me marry him. My feet didn’t
touch the ground, I was airborne in saying
yes. Within a month we were discussing
sailing trips, big sailing trips, the kind of
trips that people spend lifetimes planning.
Luke is the kind of guy who chases big ideas. He tackles
them and they become his reality. His athleticism in this
department is impressive.
I was never hankering to cross an ocean. It rested on my
mind as a possibility but it wasn’t eating me, in fact I
probably had to be gently sold on the idea.
Luckily for Luke, he is a salesman, and a damn good one.
My perspective on sailing oceans changed in meeting
someone who had an admirable passion for the sea, and a
confident familiarity with handling its multiple
personalities. I began to think that I, too, had a small
fraction of what he had. We had barely sailed together, but
knew that we needed to.
I grew up as a leisurely passenger aboard Desireé, my
father’s 1962 Pearson Invicta, sailing the Great Lakes. Then,
I had no interest whatsoever in the action of sailing, purely
catching rays and swimming to land. It wasn’t until five
years ago that I sailed a boat alone for the first time. I
bought a 1979 Cal 27 with one of my best friends, and we
dreamed of taking it to the Bahamas.Forged sick notes
Luke had his first taste of sailing as a kid growing up in
New Zealand. The first time Luke sailed an Optimist he
decided sailing was all he ever wanted to do. He forged sick
notes and skipped school to go sailing. As a 12-year-old, he
would disappear for lengthy afternoons sailing, much to
the annoyance of his family, as he never told them where
he was sailing and when he planned to return. He became
obsessed, with racing in particular.
I remember the first night I met Luke, at the Annapolis
Boat Show. There may have been tequila involved but one
conversation I recall was sobering. Luke and a friend had
sailed a Hobie cat around Britain at 21 years old, setting a
speed record on the way. I understood his extremity; his
pushing of boundaries, which made me feel like I had yet
to push mine, even though I thought I already had. Simply
imagining being on the trampoline of a Hobie for 28 days
straight, soaking wet and freezing, had my mind ping-
ponging with questions. I wanted to know everything.In agreeing to spend the rest of my life with Luke there
was no question about my future on the ocean. When I
realised what ingredients we had laid out in front of us, I
pitched him my brilliant idea: “Let’s sail from my house to
your house, Michigan to England, before we get married.
The ultimate premarital test!”
I didn’t even have to finish the pitch before Luke was
speaking in numbers, routes, seasons, and logistics. I sat
my father down and chose my words wisely: “Dad, can we
sail your boat to England?”
Desireé is solid, built by wooden boatbuilders during the
early days of glass. She is a beautiful design tastefully
crafted by Bill Tripp Jr. She is a yawl rig with long
overhangs, a big, full bow and a lovely counter stern, with
sweeping sheer lines and low freeboard.
Luke was in love with the demi bulwarks with their
mahogany cap rail, essential for keeping all lines on board,
not to mention having stopped both of us from sliding off
the deck on several occasions.
She was designed for the Newport to Bermuda Race,
which her sistership won back in the Sixties. This was the
first glassfibre design to win an offshore race anywhere. It
was guaranteed the boat would be fast and strong enough
for any ocean.
The never-ending job list began. Inside an ice-cold
storage unit during a northern Michigan winter, we
prepped Desireé to cross the Atlantic. With numb fingers
we installed self-steering, solar, AIS, a new head, and
pieced together a newly rebuilt engine.
We measured the rig for new sails, installed an inner
forestay... and the list went on and on.
By spring’s first thaw, we launched her and sailed
away on 17 April, just a few degrees above freezing.Michigan-born Jessie
Zevalkink is a freelance
photographer and writer.
Luke Yeates is a manager
for Hyde Sails UK. As they
travel between homes
they plan to continue
sailing Desireé to further
destinations. Luke dreams
of lapping the globe via the
three Capes, and is working
on his pitch to convince
Jessie. Follow them at
katieandjessieonaboat.comL
‘luke forged sick notes
and skipped school
to go sailing’
CRUISING
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