Florida Today from Cocoa, Florida • Page 13

MaonBBBiMlaBBw flMW Jl HIH Hull 'i'iim iiiilMiii i i IBF IP" s43HPP9 iHHHb vBBBBBBBB HLADKY AND HIS FIRST MATE, MARY JANE. WE WERE ALMOST COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD By Mary Ann Hill Her humming dlesel breaking the quiet of a new morning, the Diosa inched out of her berth at Island Point Marina and pointed her bow southward down the still, chilly waters of the Indian River. It was Jtfov. 29, 1969, and while Brevard's thoughts of) the coming Christmas mingled with keen interest in the moon rocks brought back by the crew of the Apollo 12 voyage, the 40 foot trimaran Dioas was beginning a voyage of her own, following the sun south to the islands and waters of the Caribbean. For her crew.

Mary Jane and Dick Hladky, it was the culmination of a project they had Iilanned and worked towardfor years a year ong sailing journey aboard their own boat, with no set itinerary and no need for clocks or calendars or the other cramping confinements of landbound living. The kind of trip that many dream of, but few accomplish. The Hladkys are among that diminishing breed of people who make the sea and sailing a part of their lives, if not indeed, a way of life. They had always owned boats, at least six or seven over the years, ranging from a 12 foot sailing dinghy on And with each new craft, the length was longer and the distances covered during summer 'vacations greater. With their two sons grown, the Hladky's moved from Seattle to Brevard four years ago, and Dick went to work for Boeing as a logistics engineer.

After a year of living in a house on Merritt Island and taking short hops to the Bahamas on their sloop, sea fever once again set in. They traded their home and boat for their current Plver design multihull and moved bag and baggage aboard to live dockside at the Island Point Marina on Merritt Island. The next few years 'were filled with" activities to get their new boat in shape for the projected voyage, and late in 1969, Dick Hladky took his year's leave of absence from Boeing and be and Mary Jane set outM b. Nassau in the Bahamas was the first port of call for the Diosa, and island after Island followed Calcos, Turk, Andros, the Exumas, Akllns, Caicos, Puerto Rico approximately 2,000 miles down the Caribbean chain to the Lesser Antilles, Leeward and Windward Islands and finally the stopping point at Grenada. The trip south took 10 months, the trip returning only three 13 months of nothing but sailing, scuba diving," sightseeing, sun and salt air.

And on 31, 1970, the Dioas slipped back Into her berth at the Island Point Marina. Mary Jane and Dick Hladky sat sipping coffee in the main flipping through the many pages of their ship's log to refresh their memories of their memorable journey. "I didn't really want to come back," Mary Jane grinned. "We saw so many things, met so many wonderful people it was like a different world." "We were almost completely, out of touch with the rest of the world," Dick added. "No clocks or watches to go by, and in fact there's a place in my log where I make a jump from March til May with no log for April at all.

That shows how unimportant time becomes on a trip of this sort." Although the Hladkys did map out a rough course for themselves, they followed no set timetable. "That was part of the game," Dick smiled, "to move along at own pace, 'depending on which places we enjoyed the most We stayed three or four months In'tho Virgin Islands and a month in Puerto Rico." With them the Hladky's carried a SO cc Yamaha motorcycle, which took them up and down many hills, and over many miles of roads on the Isjands they visited. "It was brand new when we left," Dick laughed, "and now, after being lashed to the deck for so long, it looks, like the wrath of Godl" i The Hladky's found the Dioas well suited to 8UNDAY. JANUABY SI, 1971 island cruising, with its three foot draft and 22 foot beam. "The two outriggers eliminate practically all of the customary rolling motion of a sailboat." Dick explained.

"In fact, it was very seldom that we had to stow articles a way Everything stayed put. "And the Diosa proved herself to be very seaworthy. We ran into a bad storm once, where winds were up to 60 knots and the seas were as high as the second spreader on the main mast. The Diosa rode right through it under jib and mizzen with no trouble. The only thing that happened was our Jib blew out.

But that's to be expected sometimes" Apart from the storm, the Hladkys enjoyed good weather for most of the trip. The only mishap was when the dlesel conked out in the Virgin Islands, but they remedied that situation by selling it in St Thomas and installing an 18 horsepower outboard. "And we. ran aground twice," Dick smiled wryly, "once when leaving Miami and then again when we came back into the marina here." Their journey over, the Hladkys now are busy getting "re established," a word they don't particularly like to use but which adequately sums up their situation. Dick is waiting to sec whether or not he will return, to work with Boeing here, or perhaps move on to another place.

But one thing they are doing is putting the Diosa up for sale. "No, we're certainly not finished with sailing," Dick said. "We just need to find out what we're going to be doing and where we'll be going. 'There'll be another boat, for certain," he added. "And I'm equally certain there will be other trips perhaps to the Mediterranean, or South America, or even the South Pacific.

"All anyone really needs is a boat and; we iit is is a dobi anur.