Son of a Son-in-Law of a Sailor

One thing I love about running charters is getting to know new people. How do you get to know someone? Asking questions is a shortcut to finding out what you want to know about a person. And it usually runs both ways. Therefore, I am asked many a question on my charters, and one of the more common questions is: "How did you start sailing?"

Capt. Greg at the back cove of the Columbia Sailing Club, with Antara in the background.

Being that I was born and raised in Orangeburg, SC, that is truly an understandable question! Orangeburg is a small city in the middle of South Carolina that's not exactly renowned for a booming sailing community (even though it has produced a few hardy sailors and as well as renowned racers).

I owe my induction to sailing firstly to Thomas Elliott Bell, my maternal grandfather. He was a self-taught sailor who sailed Lake Michigan while living in Chicago, and when he moved back to his home state of Georgia, he sailed Lake Altoona and Lake Lanier. The boat he sailed had been in Charleston and was a project boat that he rebuilt and refurbished (as a matter of fact, my Uncle Jim earned the money to buy his engagement ring for Aunt Nona by sanding and varnishing it!). Unfortunately for me, Grandaddy had stopped sailing well before I came along. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to sail with him that my older Atlanta cousins did.

My father met my mother when he was in school at Georgia Tech. They fell in love and were married, and it was then that Grandaddy took my pop sailing on Lake Altoona and on Lake Lanier. That experience hooked my dad and he wanted to become a sailor himself. He didn't pursue his passion immediately as he was otherwise occupied raising five kids (I was the baby) and running a cotton mill in Orangeburg. That didn't stop him from yearning to sail. He also had encouragement.

That encouragement came from a friend of his, George Perry. Mr. Perry took Pop sailing on Lake Murray at the Columbia Sailing Club. In 1974, Pop fulfilled his dream and bought a Helms 25,which he named Antara, and launched her on Lake Murray. I was 5 years old at the time and have vivid memories of our entire family spending weekends sailing on Lake Murray, first out of Well's Marina, then for many years out of the Columbia Sailing Club. All seven of us would spend up to a week on the boat, sleeping in a cabin with only 5 feet of headroom (I was little and could stand up just fine).

Wells Marina, Lake Murray, SC circa 1974

My Pop and I

Sailing was and is a way of life for me. We'd spend weekends at the sailing club, sailing and sleeping aboard Antara. We would also sail our Sunfish, honing our solo skills. As my older siblings began going off to college, Pop had fewer family members with which to sail. This led to cherished time spent on the water with just him and me. I would call him at work (he'd long ago closed the cotton mill and had bought Sandlapper Publishing so pursue another passion: books) and ask if we could go sailing and without hesitation, he'd say, "Yes!", drop everything and we'd head up to the lake...

Eventually, when I was in college, Mom and Pop Pop would move to Lake Murray, buy a Hunter 28 and spend several years there. Unfortunately, Pop Pop came down with Alzheimer's and could not sail, and in 1999, I bought their Hunter 28, Water Music, and had her trucked down to the coast where I started Water Music Charters of Folly Beach. And that is the origin story of how an Orangeburg boy began a life under sail...

Pop Pop and I with Antara in the background

My mom and pop sailing the original Water Music in the early nineties