Every step of the way I pushed the button on my “Spot” GPS transponder, so that they would know where we were and it was always a great treat to call him on the phone to check in as we moved from harbor to harbor and have him say something like, “Wow, you are making great progress” as he viewed Pandora’s location on Google Earth.<\/p>\n
In spite of the fact that I spent countless hours with him over the last year as his health slowly deteriorated it didn’t make it any less hard to handle the finality of his passing. \u00a0However, I take comfort in knowing that this blog, in a small way, is a legacy to him and the unique pleasure he took in “living vicariously” through my words and pictures.<\/p>\n
As I look back on the last eight years and over 350 posts, it makes me happy to know that these “conversations with Dad” will live on long after he’s gone.<\/p>\n
Dad was only aboard Pandora a few times but I am thrilled to recall these days as perhaps some of my fondest.<\/p>\n
I recall the first time both he and my mom were aboard shortly after we took delivery of Pandora. \u00a0While we kept her on a mooring in Norwalk CT, I was able to find a slip to pull into so that we could bring my Mom’s wheelchair down the ramp to the boat and help her aboard. \u00a0With the help of my friend Chris (the same marine artist guy that I wrote about in a recent post) we were able to get her aboard and headed out for a terrific afternoon sail. \u00a0This shot pretty much sums it up. \u00a0A great day.\u00a0 For me, he will continue to be there as we continue or travels aboard Pandora and I will imagine him pulling up my posts on the screen while he enjoys a glass of wine thinking about me and Brenda and what we are up to.<\/p>\n I’ll will miss him terribly but knowing that, as I write this and future posts, he’s looking down and smiling makes me feel better. \u00a0 That’s a good thing and, in many ways, the continuation of an era. \u00a0 With that in mind, I guess I’ll keep writing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Garden-6.2007-092.jpg\" "\\"OLYMPUS")
<\/a>Another time Dad came out with me and our boys when we took a run from Wickford RI to Cuttyhunk and on to New Bedford a number of years back. \u00a0It was a picture perfect weekend with bright sunny days and dense fog at sunset to complete the mood. \u00a0We hiked up to the top of the hill on Cuttyhunk to enjoy the overlook facing up Buzzard’s Bay. \u00a0<\/a>A passer by agreed to document the moment for us. \u00a0Three generations of Osborn men out having a “guy’s weekend”. \u00a0 \u00a0I recall that later that afternoon, as we sat on a mooring in the harbor, the fog rolled in. \u00a0Dad, who had not spent much time on the water, was entranced by the sight of the sun setting behind the fog.<\/a>After Cuttyhunk we motored up Buzzard’s Bay to Fairhaven MA, across the harbor from New Bedford and picked up a mooring owned by fellow Corinthian Patty Jason. \u00a0We enjoyed a cocktail on her patio overlooking historic New Bedford Harbor, the perfect end to a weekend with dad.<\/span><\/a>My dad was only aboard Pandora a few times but through my blog and the thousands of miles and hundreds of posts, he’s been aboard every step of the way. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n