A Tribute to Don Anderson

Those wishing to send condolences, or share a story about Don with his family can send an email to summerpassage@gmail.com

Don Anderson manning his radio

Just yesterday we received word that a good friend of ours had died. We had never met him in person, but both Patrick and I had spent hours listening and talking to him over the SSB radio. He shaped our cruise, told us where to go and when, allayed our fears of hurricanes and scared the beejeebies out of us once. It's with great sadness that I say that Don Anderson of Summer Passage passed away last week. For three years of our cruise, Don was our chief weatherman, our sage of sailing wisdom, our daily entertainment. Now, it truly feels like it's time to go home. How could we do a hurricane season in the far north Sea of C without Don Anderson?

I've mention Don throughout our time here. He was our preferred weatherman to listen to. He didn't worry about the weather in each and every anchorage. His specialty was giving the whole picture and explaining what was going on over the region. He loved the weather. When a big storm was brewing, he was sooo excited. You could hear it in his voice. The bigger the storm coming, the more excited he got.

When Jimena was bearing down on the Baja in 2008, Don was in heaven. It was shaping up to be the biggest hurricane to ever hit the Baja in history - a Category 5. Unfortunately for us, we were in it's path. Every day, he warned of its gathering strength and projected path. When a big one was coming, he was in his element. I remember with Jimena, he said one day, "You wouldn't catch me down there. That's how I lived to 75. It's not going to tear the skin off of rice pudding, folks. It's going to tear your clothes off!" He was chortling with glee. We of course were scared as hell and lit out for as far north as we could go. He was right - it came up the Sea to Santa Rosalie/Guaymas and we were right to get to safety up in Willard Bay.

Don told you about more than the weather, though. He was a very knowledgeable man about many things. He had sailed for years and years of his life and covered thousands of sea miles in his own boat, Summer Passage. He was a radio nut and very knowledgeable of radios. We learned so much from listening to him. Sometimes during his weather he would go off on a rant about different topics. Truly, he had a lot of info stuffed in his head. Sometimes he was not very polite when he would go off on a rant, but he was always entertaining (as long as you weren't the one he was going off on!) and educational.

Last summer when we were headed north for the hurricane season, I felt a lump in my breast, and another hurricane was forming up. We didn't know what to do. Turn around and head into a hurricane, or continue north and not get medical care for a couple months. We decided to listen to Don that night. He mentioned the hurricane that was brewing. We called in with a weather question and asked him to clarify if he thought it was going to be a threat to the far north. Don paused, looked at his data and said, "No, this one isn't a threat for you." That was all we needed, and we turned around and headed back to get medical treatment. He was right, the hurricane never even came close. He was that good. We always trusted his opinion of where the big ones would go, even days before they were formed up.

And now he is gone. Just Google his name and mention "Oxnard" (where he lived) and "weather" and you will get referred to page after page of cruiser's blogs who mention him. He was the weather man for hundreds and hundreds of people. He has touched the lives of many, many sailors. His radio rig was so powerful that he could reach out thousands of miles from Alaska to the South Pacific. and beyond. He donated thousands of hours of his time with weather watches and providing weather almost daily on three different radio nets that I know of. His dedication was amazing. I know there is a large group of fellow mourners. An era has ended here in the Pacific.

Fair winds Don, and following seas. Thanks for all your help.