Goodbye, Wiley

Wiley flew home on Sunday. He could no longer continue on with us. It's very sad, Wiley has so much passion for sailing and he worked so hard to help my father prepare Severance for this journey, and his contributions as crew are irreplaceable. He brought inspiring enthusiasm, fearlessness on the foredeck, and sailing knowledge and experience that was damn impressive for a young punk.
The night before he left, Kelly, Wiley, my father and I were in the cabin drinking "Dark and Stormies" (ginger beer and local rum), listening to The Band and reminiscing about our shared past. I had met him for the first time two weeks prior, but those two weeks were spent within 34 feet of him without many other options to socialize. You get to know someone pretty quickly in those circumstances; I learned that Wiley is a hell of a sailor and a great friend.
Later that night, my father was asleep in the quarterberth while the three of us hung out on the foredeck. I don't know who started it, but Severance started slowly listing side-to-side. It wasn't long before Wiley and Kelly were each swinging on a shroud, and I was standing on the bow pulpit grabbing the forestay. We had her swinging 60 degrees port-to-starboard, tied to her pier in a dead-calm marina. We couldn't wake my father. Now, without Wiley, we don't stand a chance.
We'll miss you, buddy. You're on this boat in our hearts.