Hold On
Hull number 644
by Doug Nelson
My sailing experience began with the purchase of a brand new Sunfish in 1970 for $575.00. White hull with a red deck….she was a beauty.
My wife, Julie, and I quickly learned the technique of righting an overturned Sunfish, and enjoyed sailing the 'fish for several years, mainly on Pentwater Lake.
Several years later I purchased a used Catalina 22. We trailered Sundancer to several lakes around Michigan and berthed her on a slip in Caseville, Michigan for a few years, sailing in Saginaw Bay.
During that time, I had a friend who joined Lake Fenton Sailing Club, and purchased a Lightning. I became regular crew on the Wednesday night races. Among our competition was Herm Nichols, who was a prominent builder of Lightning sailboats, in Fenton, Michigan.
As the kids grew up and got involved in sports and other activities, my sailing opportunities took a hiatus until I retired and moved to Pentwater in 2011. New sailing opportunities were presented when Phil Ceton invited me to fill a crew spot in a Saturday race on Troll (Frode Maaseeidvaag). What a great crew to learn from….Phil Ceton, Frode and Don Lambrix!
Shortly after sailing as a fill in on Troll, I was introduced to Doug Crossman, who was looking for regular crew on his Ensign, Camille. I eagerly signed on and enjoyed sailing with Doug for two or three years. While crewing on Camille I met and became friends with Brad Davis (more to follow), who also crewed on Camille.
While crewing for Doug Crossman, I received an email from Dave Bluhm, telling me that he was putting Hold On up for sale. Not really thinking about acquiring an Ensign at the time I sent e-mails to several friends, who I thought may interested in buying Hold On. One of the responses came from Brad Davis, who inquired if I was looking for someone to share ownership with. That was not my original intent, but after some discussion, we agreed that we were of similar dispositions and could make a co-ownership work.
And since Hold On had won 4 or the previous 6 Club Championships, we assumed it was a super fast boat, and we would immediately be in contention for the Club Championship for years to come. We quickly learned that a boat's pedigree does not guarantee Championships, but we are certainly having fun trying!
Ensign Fleet 70 is a great sailing community, and Brad and I have met many friends through our participation in the Fleet activities at PYC.