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RUTH SILNES
Ruth remembers the yachting journey in her recently completed book KEEPING AHEAD of WINTER - 4100 Nautical Miles Inside America. As a novice to boating and newly married to her second husband Torger, they honeymooned by crewing their 38-foot powerboat from Joliet, Illinois, to the alligator infested waters of the Florida Everglades. She tells her story with humor, romance, and of their near-death experiences. In the interest of time and Ruth's fascination with new ways of doing things, she chose to go with Xlibris, a Books on Demand Publisher. They can print one book at a time. She is currently finishing the illustrations for Naptime Secrets, a book for two to seven-year-olds and has ideas for two fiction stories. Ruth's life is full, and she wants to share simple strategies and solutions to help make life fulfilled for others. Her formula for fulfillment is: don't be afraid to make mistakes or try new things, take chances with your ideas, keep up with the times and enjoy your good memories. She recommends you make lists of your accomplishments and good qualities. Ruth lives in a retirement residence in San Mateo, California. She says, "Being relieved of running a household she has more time to indulge herself in the arts." She has two children, two grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Happily they all live close by her. She is currently a member of the California Writer's Club, the International Women's Writing Guild, ARTshare, International Toastmasters Clubs, and is a founding member of the Silicon Valley Art Museum.
Available at:
Xlibris and
Amazon
Excerpt
from Chapter 1 "I smell gas. Gasoline!" I shouted to Torger. Instinctively he shut off the engines and instruments. I saw a look of horror cross my husband's face. Explosion is a boatman's worst fear, and we were alone in the middle of vast Lake Huron. Torger was at the wheel going full speed. White foam slid up the sides of the hull leaving its trail behind. When I smelt the acrid gasoline I checked the chart to see if we had reached the Canadian side. I opened all of the windows to let in the cold damp air and pulled open the forward hatches.Torger hurried toward the stern and lifted a hatch over the engines. "Ruth, there's gasoline spewing out of the sediment bowls!". The entire bottom of the boat was flooded with gasoline.
Bob Rap came to see how we were doing. It was a joyous warm feeling, being so far from home to discover we had made a good friend. He gave Torger a ride to the dentist, which gave me a little time to myself on the boat. Between workmen I went in the bottom of the bilge to cleaned out sawdust so it wouldn't clog the pumps. I crawled into the small spaces where others couldn't fit. Torger was late coming home. I relaxed in the salon and while filing what was left of my broken fingernails, my mind wandered back home to the time preparing for the journey. I was taking the United States Power Squadron's Advanced Grades Seamanship Course. Torger joined me going to class, both to encourage me and to refresh his memory and familiarize himself with recent changes in boating knowhow. When it was time for our first examination, Torger sat next to me. He finished early, turned his paper in and came back and sat quietly beside me. The classroom began to empty as other students finished their tests. I had to pass this examination so I would be eligible to take the navigational course that followed. It was important that I prepare myself as well as possible for what lay ahead. My hands were sweaty and I felt cold. My mind went blank. I couldn't think of the word I needed to answer the final question of the test. I figured if I went over the nautical language I had learned, it would come to me. Starboard is right, port is left, and port is also a window. A toilet and/or bathroom is called a head. But headroom is not a bathroom; it is the height of the ceiling. You don't go upstairs, you go topside on a ladder. You don't go downstairs, you go below. The living room is a salon. The kitchen is a galley. The bedroom is a stateroom. You sleep in a bunk, or berth, but the engine sits in a bed, and on a boat, a screw is a propeller.
The word I
needed to answer the examination question
was down in the basement, but basement
wasn't an accepted word. "Ohhh," I
groaned, and Torger's eyes pleaded for me
to finish before the time was up. The
proctor was sitting in the seat on my
other side, biting his lip to keep from
giving me the answer. Everyone else was
gone.
With seconds to go, Torger said, "What is it I never can get you to do?" Blood shot to my head. In fury I looked at my once beautifully manicured fingernails, now stained and broken. "Clean the bilge, bilge... That's it! BILGE!" I passed that test and the navigation course too. There wasn't time for further study. I was as ready as I could be. The important thing I learned from taking the courses was how little I knew about seamanship, how much there is to learn, and how important it is to know as much as possible because it can mean the difference between life and death. Torger assured me I could handle it, so I supposed I could.
We arrived mid-afternoon at Windmill Point Marina in Foxwell. We pulled up to the dock and a healthy, well-proportioned blonde, wearing a yellow tight-fitted dress with a plunging neckline, set her briefcase down on the dock. "Toss me your line," she said. Torger was out on the bow faster than I could ever remember seeing him move and tossed a line to her.
I handed her
the stern line. All the while, the young
woman and Torger had their eyes locked
together. He jumped off the boat and they
shook hands.
"That's my sailboat." She pointed down the dock. "My father helped me buy it. He's aboard, working on it now. I'm in real estate. I'm going to change into boating clothes and I'll be back." Torger took her arm and walked her to her boat. I was seething. That little snip really hit all the right buttons. I went inside to do my chores and at the same time I watched out the window and waited for Torger to come back. He was gone a long time, and when he came back, he said, "She's in real estate, has her own office in Foxwell. She has some property she wants to show me. The town here is growing; it could be a very good place to invest. She wants me to go in business with her. She likes my boat and wants to show it to her father, if that's all right with you. Her name is Bev Green." I felt my face redden. What happened to our boat? An hour later, Bev showed up wearing a fitted white and navy sailor suit, and looked ravishing. Moments later, her father arrived. He was tall and thin, with light brown hair and deep brown eyes. He wore tan slacks and a white sport shirt and looked much younger than Torger. Bev completely ignored me and introduced her father to Torger. I was going to have to think fast, knowing Torger was always on the lookout for new business opportunities and could be vulnerable to a sensual woman. I noted that Bev had gotten her good looks from her dad. I smiled my warmest smile, stepped forward to look deeply into Bev's father's eyes and introduced myself. "I'll be happy to show you our boat," I said. I guided him through the staterooms, showed him the engine room, the V drives, and took him topside and showed him the instruments. I explained more to him than he probably wanted to know. I wanted to stay away long enough for his daughter and Torger to wonder what we were doing. Evidently Torger and Bev hadn't said a word to each other. They still stood where we had left them, both looked nonplussed. Bev and her father left soon after. I smiled broadly. "Do you still want to go into business here?" I asked. Torger smiled a crooked smile and said, "No, not really, my love."
Available at:
Xlibris and
Amazon
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Ninty-year-old,
Ruth Silnes, is a lifelong
artist who took a boating
journey in 1965 when she was
fifty. She is a woman of
adventure, creativity,
excitement and leadership, a
model for the young and old. 
KEEPING
AHEAD OF WINTER 
