Ken Gillstrom
Ken began to develop his passion for sailing with his father aboard their 16’ dinghy at the age of 10. At sixteen the family moved up to a Northstar 22 and began doing a bit of cruising around Montreal, Lake Champlain and Lake George.
A couple of years later, he and a friend purchased 10 well used dinghies from a local yacht club’s junior program. By scavenging parts from all the boats and weeks of fiberglass work, they were able to produce 5 seaworthy “beauties”. Four were quickly sold to help pay for university tuition fees and the best one kept for their own enjoyment.
As invincible as teenagers think they are at 18, decided that 30 knots of wind would be an awesome day to sail. Well as you would expect, the boat turtled with the mast becoming embedded in the muddy bottom of the bay. With no hope of getting righted, and witnesses on shore becoming aware of the dilemma, an official rescue was set into motion. This left the two sailors in the hospital suffering from hypothermia.
Continuing with university, Ken worked summers at a manufacturing plant. Over 3 summers, Ken intently watched one of the company owners outfitting a Westsail 32 hull that he purchased……the seed was planted.
He married Carol after graduating from university with a business degree. Life became very busy with running a construction company, helping Carol with the dance studio, designing and building their home, raising 2 children . . . . . .. Sailing took a back seat, however, he did manage to race on a friend’s Hobie 18 for a few years.
At forty, Ken came across an unfinished hull near one of his construction sites. The dilapidated, helpless hull screamed out at Ken each time he passed by. It was crying out for a home to be part of and share some experiences. Finally Ken stopped on one occasion, after being deafened by the cries, to have a chat. The boat hull was beyond any first aid that Ken could was prepared to administer. But the seed that had been planted back in university was starting to grow. Ken raced home and asked Carol the question he had pondered years earlier. You know, the one every male sailor dreads asking his wife, about selling the house, moving onto a boat and become nomads sailing to the far corners of the earth. Well, Ken was blessed, the answer came immediately with a resounding YES.
So Carol needed to learn to sail – actually find out if she even liked it. So began the years at Humber Sailing and Power Boating Center. Ken took all the courses along with Carol, but also took up on the Center’s offer for him to get his instructor certifications. Ken actively teaches at all levels of certification, gives dozens of seminars on all sailing related topics and has been a mentor to hundreds of sailors over the past years. He has accumulated over fifteen thousand miles teaching and cruising on most of the Great Lakes, St Lawrence River, Lake Champlain and the Caribbean.
Oh ya, and then there is that boat thing. With this starting as a 14 year plan until retirement, why just buy a boat when you could build one in that much time.
People believe that having the ability to work with your hands and create something from raw materials is an enviable skill. However, there are many times when Ken considers it a CURSE. Never able to look at a product and just buy it. The mind has to dissect its components and figure out how you can create the same thing. It has lead to building furniture, cabinets, windows, a house, offices, dance studio for Carol, and now . . . . . . . . a boat.
Click the BOAT button at top of page for details
Email Ken
|
