western maryland college december, 1963 - Hoover Library

SIX ON THE EOS
by James B. Moore, '53
When Ann and I received orders in the spring of 1960
assigning us to Germany and more specifically to the
11th Armored Cavalry Regiment with its border security
mission along the West Cerman-Czechoslovaktan border,
we were very pleased. We made up our minds that
leaves in Europe would be planned in advance and in
sufficient detail to enable us to really see the countries
we were visiting and to get to know the people as much
as possible. The Scandinavian countries of Denmark and
Sweden, along with Holland, were our destination in
the leave I should like to describe.
Sometime around Easter of 1962 I learned of an
English firm with offices in London which arranged boat
charters for a very reasonable rate. After several letters
of inquiry I made arrangements to charter a boat during
the first week of August. The English firm owned several
sailing craft, all moored in Copenhagen, Denmark, where
a caretaker in the yacht yard managed the rest of the
business. The yard took care of repairs, outfitting, and
provisioning the craft. The price for one week was extremely
reasonable.
The boat we selected by mail was a sturdily built 30-
foot sloop rigged and weighing 9 tons. She had sleeping
accommodations for five people and was fully equipped.
Up to this point all transactions had been through thc
mails. We had, in fact, "bought a pig in a poke" since
we had never even seen the boat and knew her only
from the description in the firm's brochure.
At this point we received word from my mother and
father that they were coming for a visit about the same
time. The more the merrier, besides another strong back
on board might prove helpful. They arrived on July 27
and on August 1 we loaded up the station wagon with
all the gear and six people: Mom, Dad, Ann, Buck,
Betsy, and myself.
Straubing, where we lived, is located near the Czech
border, which meant that to get into Denmark all of
Germany had to be crossed from east to west. We did
this in two days, camping as we went across the southern
part of Germany and seeing some very beautiful countryside
in the process. We spent one night in a beautiful
campground in the middle of Copenhagen.
The next morning we headed for the harbor and the
yacht yard where our boat awaited us. The "yacht yard"
more closely resembled a junk yard. Boat yards by the
very nature of the fact that they are boat yards can
hardly be described as orderly places, but this one was
a real classic. Presently an apparition appeared from the
Shown in Copenhagen, Denmark, prior to sailing is most
of the crew of "Boe" Left to right-Mrs. Moore, Ann
Trice Moore, '53, Betsy, Captain Moore and Buck.
cabin of one boat, a replica of the yacht yard-its owner.
After introductions, he proceeded to show me the boat
I had chartered. Her name was the Eos and she appeared
to be a well constructed boat, being constructed
along the lines that are so common in Denmark, double
ended with oak planking.
The yard master showed me around the boat and I
indicated my acceptance of her which was immediate
and unqualified. This yard master turned out to be a
real character in every sense of the word. He was an
intelligent man, spoke excellent English, and possessed
that extremely dry sense of humor so characteristic of
the Danish people. Most of the day, the two of us played
a game of "cat and mouse" finding out about the boat
and my qualifications as a sailor. Towards evening he
called me into his "office" and handed me an English
translation of the Baltic Pilot and asked when we were
leaving for Sweden. I knew I had passed his test .
By nightfall all our gear was securely stowed, the
evening meal cooked and eaten, and we all turned in.
Next morning was bright and fair with a strong, steady
wind. The Baltic is famous for its unpredictable weather;
infamous is a better word. Wind and weather held fair
for the entire day. We raised the Swedish coast that
afternoon; actually the coast of Sweden is plainly visible
on a clear day. We ran parallel to the Swedish coast all
the rest of the afternoon, some 1,000 yards offshore due
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