Fairwell Friend

"Fat Bottom Girl" 30812 is a 1981 Pearson Flyer (Hull # 73) raced by amateurs in the Southern Chesapeake Bay. We are on an extended hiatus as refit plans have gone terrible wrong. But fret not, we will be back on the water and in the hunt for sailing prizes soon. I purchased the boat locally in 2005 and we started racing her in 2006. With very little success I might add.

Loss of a friend: I met Keith Darby in the late 1990's when I was building the Chesapeake Captains Association's "at-risk teen" racing program. We had a received, by way of donation, an old J-24 "Hot Pepper". Keith donated his time and expertise to make several repairs for us. I liked Keith right away and we remained friends; swapping sailing stories and advice, I enjoyed his company and he had the best stories. All confirmed to be true I might add.

Fast forward to 2008. Keith, being in home repair (that was suffering a significant slump) and me having the most prosperous year of my life (so far) decided it was a good time to make some upgrades on my new "to me" boat, Fat Bottom Girl. Keith was interested in doing the work and I was ecstatic to have one of my sailing heros leading our project. In December of 2008 we hauled FBG onto the hard. The agenda included some minor repairs, a new bottom and some fairing. Everything looked to be coming together perfectly.

That January Darby took ill with some issues that turned into the fight of his life with cancer. Over the next 13 months I became much closer to Darby.

His battle with cancer was fought gallantly. He was brave, strong and kept his sense of humor. He came out and worked on the boat, we grabbed supplies, planned and made lists. Focusing on the boat seemed to provide some distraction from his grueling fight. I heard legendary stories of sailing, smuggling, regatta's, cash prizes and bounced checks. Keith Darby lived life. Well, until Monday February 1st 2010. On that day Keith lost his fight. The cancer took him quickly.

From Keith I learned the importance of focus, attention to detail and most importantly, live your life today! On June 20th 2010, Darby's birthday, we released his ashes to the sea. It was great to know Darby. He was no saint, but one of the finest sailors to ever live. I will never forget Keith Darby or his passion for sailing.