THOMAS TANGVALD
A genius, sailor, boat designer & builder.
Culebra, Puerto Rico.
A genius, sailor, boat designer & builder.
Culebra, Puerto Rico.
IN MEMORY OF THOMAS
Thomas was declared lost at sea around May 2014, since no one had heard from him since he left the coast of Brazil on March of the same year.
Thomas was a dear friend while I lived aboard the sailing vessel 'Lady Helen' in Culebra, Puerto Rico (seasonally from 1999 through 2005). He was one of the most brilliant minds I've ever met, sometimes obscured by the effects of too much of something or another. Many people on the Island stayed away from him for the lack of understanding such a non-traditional lifestyle & fear of his shadow side reflected in the use of substances.
I was lucky to be one of those who saw beyond the shadows and was able to appreciate and enjoy his wonderful mind, his friendly funny side, his brilliant company and his friendship.
Thomas agreed to give me sailing lessons to help me fine tune my sailing skills. It took me some time to convince him to teach me, since he knew very well that I had sailed quite a bit and had gone through some very challenging passages and he insisted that he did not want to waste my money. Well, anything I learned from Thomas was far more valuable than he could ever imagine!
We sailed on the Buenadaga and I learned to feel the wind and the direction it came from, even if it was so light that you could barely sense it. I also learned from him to pick up a buoy while under sail and with no engine.
We all shared many dinners and long conversations on board our sailboats, had many creative sessions talking about boat designs and I learned a lot of nuances about sailing from him.
He was the one that greeted Michael and I early on a Sunday morning when we arrived in Dakiti Bay without a rudder after having sailed 600 miles from the vicinity of The Bermuda Islands. The minute he saw our sailboat he knew what had happened. Most other people had no idea. He rowed over and brought us fresh coffee and a smile.
He was by far the most polite dinner guest we ever had on board, always leaned over the side of the boat to wash his plate and cup and handed it back clean and dry!
Here I share his personal blog and a tribute I found on the web about his life.
May Thomas rest in the peaceful womb of the ocean and may his young family always stay safe and feel his love. Namasté
Thomas was a dear friend while I lived aboard the sailing vessel 'Lady Helen' in Culebra, Puerto Rico (seasonally from 1999 through 2005). He was one of the most brilliant minds I've ever met, sometimes obscured by the effects of too much of something or another. Many people on the Island stayed away from him for the lack of understanding such a non-traditional lifestyle & fear of his shadow side reflected in the use of substances.
I was lucky to be one of those who saw beyond the shadows and was able to appreciate and enjoy his wonderful mind, his friendly funny side, his brilliant company and his friendship.
Thomas agreed to give me sailing lessons to help me fine tune my sailing skills. It took me some time to convince him to teach me, since he knew very well that I had sailed quite a bit and had gone through some very challenging passages and he insisted that he did not want to waste my money. Well, anything I learned from Thomas was far more valuable than he could ever imagine!
We sailed on the Buenadaga and I learned to feel the wind and the direction it came from, even if it was so light that you could barely sense it. I also learned from him to pick up a buoy while under sail and with no engine.
We all shared many dinners and long conversations on board our sailboats, had many creative sessions talking about boat designs and I learned a lot of nuances about sailing from him.
He was the one that greeted Michael and I early on a Sunday morning when we arrived in Dakiti Bay without a rudder after having sailed 600 miles from the vicinity of The Bermuda Islands. The minute he saw our sailboat he knew what had happened. Most other people had no idea. He rowed over and brought us fresh coffee and a smile.
He was by far the most polite dinner guest we ever had on board, always leaned over the side of the boat to wash his plate and cup and handed it back clean and dry!
Here I share his personal blog and a tribute I found on the web about his life.
May Thomas rest in the peaceful womb of the ocean and may his young family always stay safe and feel his love. Namasté
MELANIE L. WELLS-ALVARADO (a.k.a. Shóbhana) - melwells@gmail.com - +506-8753-8231 - skype:melwells
