Tayana 37 Pilothouse, Amity. Based in Mandeville, Louisiana, on Bayou Castine off Lake Pontchartrain.

She is a Robert Perry design from the 1970s, made in the Ta Yang Yacht Building yard of Taiwan.

She’s a genuine blue water cruiser. Amity (formerly Gone With The Wind) has a robust history of cruising on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Her original owner was based in Portland, Oregon and she was sailed as far south as Mexico (where she rescued five fishermen whose boat sank). Later, new owners took her to the east coast, where, based on the Chesapeake, she transiting as far south as South America.

Now she sails in Southern Louisiana, with plans for breaking out to the Gulf this year. She is a regular participant in the Wooden Boat Show in Madisonville, Louisiana, and won 2nd place in the ‘Classic Division’ (read ‘non-wood division’) in 2023.

We all know boats are more than just empty vessels in the water. They are the embodiment of hope and peace.

That is certainly the case with Amity.

I bought her in 2020, just a few years after becoming a widower and on the edge of entering retirement. I searched for her specifically… I loved the classic lines of the Tayana 37, her reputation for seaworthiness and was particularly taken with the Pilothouse configuration. When I found her, Amity needed work, and I needed something to work on. We were good for each other.

Like any proud owner, I posted photos of her on social media, including a page for my high school class.

Within a couple of weeks, I got a message from a woman I had gone to school with 50 years earlier. She was the prettiest girl in my class, but even more so, had a confidence about her that really impressed me. Being the shy boy that I was, I never spoke to her. But I also never forgot her.

She wanted to see the boat next time she was in Louisiana, and I happily obliged.

Just 11 months after Vicki boarded Amity that first time, we were married at the local Yacht Club.

The moral of the story is boats change lives.

For the better.

If you are ever in doubt, just buy the boat!