I m p ressio n s
Be Well, PDA
by Dr. Stephen T. Radack III, Editor
Just about 10 years ago I did something
impulsive that surprised my wife Mary,
and looking back, even me. I bought a
sailboat. I had never owned a boat other
than a kayak and had never even been
on a sailboat before. It seemed like sailing
would be a great way to relax and enjoy Lake Erie (when it isn’t
frozen).
I had previously had several long conversations about sailing with
friends Jerry Axler and Charlie Weber during our time together
on the PDA Board of Trustees. They are both long-time sailors and
gave me the nudge I needed to buy a boat. Now don’t get me
wrong, I wasn’t planning to invest our life savings in a boat; the
1982 22’ Starwind trailerable sailboat cost just $2,500. I figured if I
didn’t like it I could just sell it after one season.
I tried to justify this out of nowhere purchase with Mary by saying
I needed a stress reliever from the day to day practice of dentistry,
and getting out on the water with no motor and only the sound
of the water trickling off the rudder would be the perfect vehicle
to relax us all. Since it was October when I bought the boat, it was
put into storage for the winter and I could only dream of the
warm sunny sailing days to come the next summer.
Per Jerry and Charlie’s recommendation, I registered my brother
(he had promised to be my first mate all the way from Raleigh, NC)
and me in an introductory sailing course for May in Annapolis.
This course promised both classroom and on the water training
and the ability to be ready to go home and sail by the end of the
weekend. True to their word that is what happened. One hour in
a classroom and out to the Rainbow 24s and onto the water of
the Chesapeake Bay. Thank goodness for experienced instructors
because that was a little nerve wracking and nothing like the
stress reliever that I had hoped sailing would provide. After several
more in classroom and on the water sessions that weekend, I felt
ready to get my little boat out on the water back home.
Once we had “Sea Dancer” in the water back in Erie, it was time
for Mary (who became my first mate by default and the fact she
lived in the same town as me) and I to put my new found sailing
“expertise” to work. As most folks who boat know, the most
challenging part always seems to getting the boat out of and
then back into the slip. Again the whole idea of this sailing stuff
was “relaxation.” Mary continued to have her doubts about this
whole thing and probably thought I had lost my mind. My
daughters had no interest in a boat that didn’t go fast and
wanted to know when the jet skis were coming! Once we got
out on the water, hoisted the sails and cut the motor, there it
finally was…ahhhhhh. The only sound was the wind in the sails
and the sound of the water rippling as the boat cut through it.
Now it was time to put my super novice sailing skills to work
because we were running out of water and it was time to tack
(change direction). I remember it being not quite as easy without
my master instructor Captain John on board with us, but we
got through it and the rest of that sail and even back into the slip
without too much trouble.
That first little boat provided us some interesting adventures and
since it was trailerable, I had to actually drive it behind me when
fall came and it was time to take it out of the water. That was
definitely not relaxing at all for me, but it all ended up being fine.
After a couple of years we got 3 1/2 foot “itis” and bought a 1985
25.5’ Hunter with an inboard motor and a roller furling jib sail.
We were moving up in the world, but it was really about making
sailing easier and more relaxing. That summer, even Mary had
come to enjoy being out on the water once that motor was shut
off and has learned to love sailing.
The point here is that we all need to find something that brings
us joy and helps relieve stress. Dentistry is a great profession, but
not an easy one. I still remember at some point learning that
dentistry had the highest rate of alcoholism, divorce and suicide
of any of the professions. Wow! That was a real eye opener and
we all need to do everything we can to find a way not be part of
those statistics. I know many friends who have found their own
ways to relieve stress and have fun away from the profession.
Golfing, travelling, gardening, dancing, music, running or working
out, spending time with family and friends, a hobby or even
climbing the seven highest mountains in the world as our former
editor and past president Bruce Terry has done.
Dr. Roopali Kulkarni, a 2019 Penn grad and immediate past
president of the American Student Dental Association made
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