the legend of porky

Meet Porky, the scoundrel who taught me more about the water than any textbook. His stories were the heartbeat of our early restoration days.

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Stepping on the Banana Peel

Porky – the beginning
It happened around 7:30 on August 20, 1988 in Montrose Harbor. We saw a double-end sloop sailing into the harbor and stopped to watch. The path along the shore runs along the fairway near the Harbor entrance so we could see her up close with two old geezers aboard. We watched for a few minutes and as the sun set headed for home. The next morning, I did something I’d never done before – picked up the Tribune, went to the classifieds and checked out Boats for Sale. There it was:

“1936 Atkin Double-end Sloop ESMERALDA, 25’ OAL – for sale”

I had to at least make a call. It went like this:
Me: “I saw you sailing into Montrose Harbor last night. I’m not interested in buying a boat, but out of curiosity, what are you asking?
He: “$12,000 but I’ll come down.”
Me: “I’m not interested in buying a boat.”
He: “I’ll go partners with you.”
Me: “I’m not interested in buying a boat but I’d love to go for a sail.”
That evening started a life on Chicago waters for the next forty years in one wooden boat after another. The man on the other end of the phone was Porky. The attached pic explains the name. He’s gone now, but with his unerring eye for a sucker (me), he reeled me in. It was not as bad as it sounds.