Living in land-locked Colorado gives the crew on Windfall, a Beneteau Oceanis 45, an appreciation for the opportunity to spend time in the BVI and race in conditions that they certainly don’t get on the small lakes where Windfall owner Dave Baker and his crew typically sail. This week Baker is sailing with three sailing friends – Mike, Ryan, and April – all from the Denver area.
“We only have sleeping accommodations for four – and Ryan still has to sleep on the couch!” Baker laughs.
Baker and his wife bought Windfall after inheriting some money, hence the name Windfall. He saw an ad for Moorings boat owners and contacted the company; Moorings came back to him with a list of boat options and the Oceanis 45 had the best headroom. At 6’5” tall, the ’45 worked for Baker. They purchased the boat and put it in the Moorings charter program at the end of 2017 where it stayed for six years. The Bakers kept the boat at the end of their contract with Moorings instead of selling it like most do. Now it’s their personal boat and they’re in the dry sale program at Nanny Cay. They make it to the BVI up to five times a season but as Baker notes often it’s just to work on the boat.
“We’re working hard to make it not an ex-charter boat, we’re trying to erase all the charter damage and make it look like it’s loved!” Baker smiles.
Baker’s a Colorado native, and he had his first encounter with sailing when his older brother rented a sunfish on a little lake near Boulder, Colorado.
“I was just a little kid at the time but my brother loved sailing and he talked my dad into buying a sailboat for $75,” Baker laughs. “It was a Comet that needed lots of work. We worked on it and then started sailing it; before long we discovered racing.”
As Baker’s crew points out, anyone can sail in the BVI but not everyone can sail in Colorado where it is all lake sailing at altitude – skiing in the morning and sailing in the afternoon is not out of the question.
“Sailing on lakes is how this group knows each other – we have a tight-knot community around sailing in Colorado,” Baker explains. “We’re going to crew on a Lightning this summer, and we’ve been sailing against each other in Lightnings for several seasons, and I sail a J22 at Lake Dillon, a big lake at about 9000 feet outside of Denver.”
Maintenance aside, Baker’s really happy that he chose the Oceanis 45. They’re continuing to improve their program and recently ordered a spinnaker which they look forward to getting on board.
“We’re going to up the fun level and we’re learning about the rules; I’ve been naughty – I was taken to the woodshed yesterday about not doing measurements correctly and using a grappling hook as a whisker pole – we’re being whipped into line down here! But we’re absolutely enjoying the racing, it’s so beautiful, the conditions are great and we love just the camaraderie of it all.”
