A good man lost

[Leonard Lookner]

In the month of December, Dan Fogelberg passed away after an extended battle with Prostate Cancer. During the final years of his young life he campaigned hard to remind men of the importance of P.S.A. testing.
Dan was a great guy, and the owner of a Robin Hood 36 that he sailed solo or with his wife Jean along the coast of Maine,
They have an old farm house on Deere Isle fronting on Eggemoggin Reach where his boat was moored out front.
It is a sad passing for lovers of music, boats and the human kind. He will be missed.

(Excerpt from The Reach by Dan Fogelberg)

And the morning will blow away
As the waves crash and fall
And the Reach like a siren sings
As she beckons and calls
As the coastline recedes from view
And the seas swell and roll
I will take from the Reach
All that she has to teach
To the depths of my soul.

[Bill Goldsmith]

Leonard,

Thanks for posting the tribute. Here is a picture from Dan Fogelberg's website. There's more information on his site about his passion for sailing and his 36. A real loss.

<img width="600" src="http://www.danfogelberg.com/dansailinglg.jpg">

http://www.danfogelberg.com/dansailing.html

[barfwinkle]

I have seen Mr. Fogelberg perform many times and in venues great and small. A truly gifted composer and musician! I did not know that he was such an avid Mainard! Nor a CD (okay Robin Hood) sailer! His music has had me in tears on more times than I can count and his passing was even more devastating. A talent that will truly be missed!

If you are unfamiliar with Dan Fogelberg and his music, it is a discovery you will not regret!

Fair Winds Dan.

[chase]

Just looked over his site. I admire him. Thanks for posting.

Fair Winds, indeed, Mr Fogelberg.

[D Rush]

My wife and I have seen Dan in concert in our youth. Being a teenage of the 70's I know all songs from Souvenirs and Captured Angel. New Year's eve we heard "Captured Angel" and "Man in the Mirror", in the shuffle of our friend's iPod.

Fair Winds Dan

[Frank Vernet]

One of the favorite albums of my youth. I had heard he passed away, but did not know he was a sailor, and a CD/RH sailor at that!

Thanks for letting us know.

[Cathy Monaghan]

We ran into Dan, well, kinda, in Tenants Harbor in August 2007.

We had just arrived after sailing over from the Northeast Fleet's Maine Cruise final destination of Robinhood and picked up the very last Cod End mooring. A few minutes later Dan, aboard his RH36 Minstrel, passed us and he explored the entire mooring field finally picking up the empty private mooring right next to us. After enjoying a spectacular sunset, he slipped down through the companionway and we didn't see him again.

Anyway, if you're interested, and if you haven't heard it. Dan recorded the song "The Minstrel" in 1993 on the album River of Souls about his boat. Here are the lyrics:

<center>The Minstrel

There’s a love in my life neither mistress or wife
And she waits for me every morning by the sea
Where the fishing hawk wheels and the sun warms the seals
There she lays at her silent anchorage for me

She is fine, she is fleet, she will run, reach or beat
With a song in her rigging and her sails
And when day is done we will lay two as one
And sleep ’neath the rolling rhythm of the stars

And we sail away off to Jericho Bay
Where the blue of the sea meets the sky
And the song that she sings me, it brings me such peace
When the seas rise up angry and high
She’s a friend of mine ~ the Minstrel

There are loons off to port and the porpoises sport
In her wake as she breaks the rolling main
And with the wind in her sails, we will run with the whales
As they swim through their dark, diminishing domain

And we sail away off to Jericho Bay
Where the blue of the sea meets the sky
And the song that she sings me, it brings me such peace
When the seas rise up angry and high
She’s a friend of mine ~ the Minstrel </center>

Here are the photos that Bruce snapped of Minstrel. Click on any of them for enlargements.

<a href="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... .jpg"><img width="300" src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 193478.jpg">

<a href="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... .jpg"><img width="300" src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 193479.jpg">

<a href="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... .jpg"><img width="300" src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c349/ ... 203481.jpg">


Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[David Perry]

Dan was a great guy, and a wonderful client to build a Robinhood 36 for. He would get aboard "Minstrel" mid summer each year, after his concert tour, and sail continuously right through October, getting in more days onboard than most. After a diognosis of advanced prostate cancer in 2004, Dan and his wife Jean made Maine their year around home. And he sailed even more. He never did get to take "Minstrel" south as he talked about doing.
Dan is sorely missed by all of his friends at Robinhood.

[Paul D.]

Dan basically taught me how to play guitar. Putting the needle back to that song over and over and over again till the record was dull.

I never knew he was a sailor and an Alberg man no doubt. Of course he was a sailor, it makes perfect sense.

Good sailing to you Dan and maybe we'll have some music on the foredeck together someday on that Cape Dory in the sky.

Paul

[Dean Abramson]

I play a little guitar and love to sing. My ultimate fantasy was to be a musician; actually, it still is. The musicians who inspired me most when I was younger are Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor. Dan's music was the theme song for some very important times of my life. When I think about when I first met Marilyn in 1972 (and married her six months later!), I always think of Dan's music; we met thru a very good folk musician who also introduced me to Dan's work.

Certainly, we hear of the passing of many well-known people every year. But Dan Fogelberg's death hit me harder than I would have expected. To me, he was one of the greats. I wish i had had the chance to meet him. Marilyn (aka Marvo) is still with me, my best crew for sea, land, and life. It was nice to hear that we were sharing the coast with Dan Fogelberg.

Dean

[Troy Scott]

"Leader of the Band" always reminds me of my relationship with my own father. I'm sorry Dan is gone. I wish I could have known him.

[bobc]

Dan's boat? The picture looked familiar.

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/ ... =1644&url=

[RIKanaka]

http://www.danfogelberg.com/dansailing.html

[Ben Thomas]

A very sad loss to so many folks, his family and his fans.
I still have a few of his LPs and a number of tunes on the IPOD.
His music will live on.
I was diagnosed with prostrate cancer 4 years ago at age 54, today I am cancer free.
This is a very treatable disease if, and here is the catch it is caught in the early stages. ( I was fortunate that mine was not that aggessive on the Gleason scale.)
I can not stress this point enough to all the men I know, Get over it! and go get a check up every year! You would be amazed at how many folks just put it off when it can save your life.
The PSA is a great indicater but it is not foolproof, my PSA level was not elevated at all, quite normal for a man my age, but coupled with the exam, blood work and urinanalysis it can be quite efective.
My doctor told me that if a man lives long enough he will have contract prostrate cancer. A fact.
So guys, if you are not on a regular schudule PLEASE do it now.
Ben

[Phil Shedd]

Ben

I could not agree more . Since my early fiftys I have had regular check ups. This pass fall I had a higher PSA test . There was a biopsy done and things were ok.

The exploring where the sun don't shine each year, is well worth the discomfort to know that things are as they should be.

Phil