5 / 85
August 2017
5
boatingonthehudson.com
A
ny father
, “worth his salt” would
be very proud to have a son like Kyle Brown,
eleven years old!
Pat Brown, the father, bought a beautiful
38-foot Carver Santiago cabin cruiser for his
family. It just so happened that it arrived on
Kyle’s fourth birthday!
From the day Kyle came on board this beautiful
yacht he was infatuated with everything
boating.
I had met both Kyle and his father Pat a number
of times during the spring striper tournament
over the past few years. They never failed to
bring in winning stripers. The rumor was that
Kyle could handle the boat by himself at the
tender age of 6 years old.
I waited for the Father and Son to arrive at
Charles Point Marina where the beautiful 38-
foot Carver is moored. Upon their arrival! Pat
introduced me to the fly bridge of the Santiago
Yacht, he said, “watch this”!
The father began questioning his son who was
sitting at the helm, about a situation that might
occur while underway anywhere on the water.
Pat: “Kyle here is the situation; tell me what
you would do under these circumstances!
I have just had a heart attack. I have passed
out and you are the only other person on the
boat, WHAT WOULD YOU DO”?
Kyle, “I would pick the microphone on the VHF
radio and announce Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,
this is the yacht SWEET PEA on the Hudson
River off of Stony Point, NY.
I would do this three time or until the Coast
Guard answered on channel 13. After the Coast
Guard answered, their first question would be,
what is your position! Kyle said well the radio
has my position automatically displayed on the
screen via the GPS built in, but I would also look
around and see what landmarks were visible”!
Pat: “That’s fine, but the boat is drifting
towards the Stony Point rocks! Well I would get
on the throttles, put the boat in gear and slowly
pull away from the dangerous rocks nearby”!
Pat asked many other questions, all answered
intelligently
and
forthrightly
without
hesitation. That coming from an eleven-year-
old child’s voice but with the skills learned of
a 20 year old who had been on the water for
years.
For those reading this, and not knowing what
boating is all about, it has been my experience
that learning the skills required to handle a
boat such as this 38 footer is a combination
of instruction, actual on the water experiences, an having the
enthusiasm to learn everything there is to know. (Actually you never
know it all, as each boat has its own indocrocies and there are never
two days alike while on the water, weather wise)
No question about it there is a bond and a respectful relationship
between this father and son that is pulled together by the boat,
fishing and just enjoying the magnificent Hudson River.
Over the past few years there were trips to Montauk, Atlantic City
an other distant locations. The father Pat is a veteran U. S. Navy man
and heavy water is something he has experienced many times. Kyle,
obviously has not had the time under his belt. but he related to me
ten-foot seas off Montauk that gave both he and his mother pause.
In my opinion Kyle Brown age 11 and his father Pat Brown,
represents what used to be the majority of father-son relationships
in the United States today, however, they represent a minority of
father-son relationship today, a sad, sad commentary on where we
are in this world of technology.
Kyle Brown age 11 and his father Pat Brown.