Seniors savor time afloat: they say youth is wasted on the young. This seems to be especially true for those past age 70 and even 80 who are still boating with as much gusto as 20-year-olds

Boat/US Magazine, March, 2005 by Elaine Dickinson

Miller, a BoatU.S. member as well as an active member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, is also active in her local yacht club, South Coast Corinthian, as well as the Santa Monica Women's Sailing Association where she acted as cruising chairman last year.

"My husband hated the outdoors," she explained in a recent conversation. "After he passed away I got back into horseback riding and then decided to get a boat. My two daughters thought I was nuts. But a boat doesn't kick or bite you or need to be fed."

Taking up sailing in her 20s, Kay learned on small Capri rental sailboats, sailing out of Newport Harbor on weekends, "which was like a parking lot." She eventually rose to coxswain in the Auxiliary and taught their coastal navigation courses.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"It's an education, and it's still going on," she said. "You don't have to be a 1,000-lb. gorilla because sailing takes more skill than strength."

Miller, who still works three days a week for a property management company, sails just about every two weeks and shares her knowledge with novices who she takes out with her on practice sails. Taking younger people out also helps her with some of the physical chores on deck. But the chance to learn something new on each and every trip out is what keeps her in the sport. "Learning to sail well is a lifelong job," she explained. "You're drawing on so many skills at once it keeps it interesting."

While being a liveaboard is "a bit more complicated" Miller said she's staying on her boat until they carry her off. Life at the marina brings her close to nature, especially the abundant birds such as blue herons and ospreys, as well as some great dock neighbors.

Bill McVey

Catching a striped bass is not at all unlike reeling in a juicy advertising account for one of his clients, according to Bill McVey, 70, currently working full time and representing BoatU.S. Magazine in the rough and tumble world of advertising sales. For some, the competitive spirit of the working world and the never-ending quest for catching the big one are all part of the same adrenalin rush that keeps life interesting.

"It's a renewal," said McVey recently about his boating. "It's revitalizing and inspires you to go out and do great things."

With an office in New York City and one at home in Long Island, McVey makes the break to his 28-foot Grady White Sparky II any time he can. "I boat from March 15 until the ice compels me to take it out of the water," he said, adding that just before Christmas when it was 28 degrees he was out surf casting at nearby Fire Island inlet, a prime spot.

McVey caught the fishing bug from his father, a minister who took the family on trips up and down the Eastern Seaboard. Starting with a Maine dinghy, McVey remember having to "row everywhere" as a kid and once was tossed up on shore in the dinghy during a howling hurricane on Penobscot Bay, ME. "It gave me a thrill," he remembered fondly.

For McVey, age is irrelevant. It's the freedom boating provides that keeps him fully involved. "Once you cast off, you're in a different world," he explained. "The attraction is being distanced from the every day responsibilities. You're responsible, but in a different way."