Out For A Winter Stroll
By PATRICK L. FANELLI
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12/14/2006 - CELORON — Greg Swan and Jim Holler, co-owners of Ready About Sailing in Celoron, have kept their promise to their customers by sailing on Chautauqua Lake every month this year, no matter what mother nature threw at them.
January and February were a challenge, and they almost didn’t make it in March — but then it was smooth sailing for the rest of the year, especially with the warm spell that followed last week’s lake effect snowstorm.
‘‘It’s absolutely gorgeous sailing today,’’ Swan said aboard Holler’s 1970 Catalina 22 sailing cruiser as the three-man crew passed the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club on their way back.
The third crewman was Swan’s brother, Denny, a resident of Lakewood.
‘‘We’ve been waiting for the ice to clear, and today it cleared,’’ Swan added.
It was a promise Swan and Holler made to their customers.
They would sail at least once each month for the entire year, which is easy enough in the spring and summer but quite a different story during the colder months, when even a thin ice cover would ruin their prospects.
‘‘So we’ve had a sail in every month. There’s always a January thaw, and in February we only sailed out to the light house,’’ Swan said, referring to the one just down the shoreline from Ready About Sailing. ‘‘In March, we thought we were going to be defeated, but in the very last days of March there was an opening.’’
They were sailing aboard Holler’s boat, which he christened Knot Done. It’s an antique at 36 years of age, and it has a noteworthy history.
‘‘The boat actually came out of Hurricane Hugo,’’ Holler said, adding that, after the devastating storm struck North and South Carolina in 1990, the Catalina 22 was one of two boats out of hundreds still floating in a Charlston harbor.
Ready About Sailing — which is located at 32 Venice Ave. off Boulevard Avenue in Celoron — is a sailboat dealership and repair shop owned and operated by Swan and Holler, residents of Lakewood and Ellicott, respectively.
‘‘The store has been around for five years,’’ Holler said. ‘‘It was specifically opened to service sailors in Chautauqua County.’’
Swan said it was a good sailing season altogether — and, with temperatures in the 40s and a bit of sunshine, Wednesday was the ideal day to end it.
‘‘It was a great sailing day on Lake Chautauqua,’’ Swan said. ‘‘I wish we saw more sailors out here with us.’’
January and February were a challenge, and they almost didn’t make it in March — but then it was smooth sailing for the rest of the year, especially with the warm spell that followed last week’s lake effect snowstorm.
‘‘It’s absolutely gorgeous sailing today,’’ Swan said aboard Holler’s 1970 Catalina 22 sailing cruiser as the three-man crew passed the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club on their way back.
The third crewman was Swan’s brother, Denny, a resident of Lakewood.
‘‘We’ve been waiting for the ice to clear, and today it cleared,’’ Swan added.
It was a promise Swan and Holler made to their customers.
They would sail at least once each month for the entire year, which is easy enough in the spring and summer but quite a different story during the colder months, when even a thin ice cover would ruin their prospects.
‘‘So we’ve had a sail in every month. There’s always a January thaw, and in February we only sailed out to the light house,’’ Swan said, referring to the one just down the shoreline from Ready About Sailing. ‘‘In March, we thought we were going to be defeated, but in the very last days of March there was an opening.’’
They were sailing aboard Holler’s boat, which he christened Knot Done. It’s an antique at 36 years of age, and it has a noteworthy history.
‘‘The boat actually came out of Hurricane Hugo,’’ Holler said, adding that, after the devastating storm struck North and South Carolina in 1990, the Catalina 22 was one of two boats out of hundreds still floating in a Charlston harbor.
Ready About Sailing — which is located at 32 Venice Ave. off Boulevard Avenue in Celoron — is a sailboat dealership and repair shop owned and operated by Swan and Holler, residents of Lakewood and Ellicott, respectively.
‘‘The store has been around for five years,’’ Holler said. ‘‘It was specifically opened to service sailors in Chautauqua County.’’
Swan said it was a good sailing season altogether — and, with temperatures in the 40s and a bit of sunshine, Wednesday was the ideal day to end it.
‘‘It was a great sailing day on Lake Chautauqua,’’ Swan said. ‘‘I wish we saw more sailors out here with us.’’
For more information about Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living Visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com
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