Back when I was building our Wharram Tiki 31 on a small island on the Seine outside Paris the music on my Walkman was mostly John Stewart and Jimmy Buffet with a bit of Beach Boys and Beatles thrown in for good measure.
A few years later building the first Loose Moose at the old Charles De Gaulle airport Jimmy Buffet was still on the Walkman more often than not.
Loose Moose 2’s mast was built listening to Last Mango in Paris…
The funny thing is I’m not a Parrothead or a huge fan of Margaritaville, it’s a lightweight song at best and I’ve heard it far too many times to ever want to hear it again. I mostly dislike it because it detracts from Buffet’s body of work that is so much better.
Most night watches aboard various boats have included some of Buffet’s good stuff as a needful aid to keeping awake because there’s nothing like a good song with heart and a sense of humor to keep you awake when the coffee no longer works.
Truth be told, it’s been a while since I sat down and listened to Buffet by choice. Of late, it mainly falls to a song that pops up when the ipod is on shuffle and I’ll be honest and admit that I have not even heard his last couple of albums at all. Still the fact that Jimmy Buffet is no longer with us leaves me depressed and somewhat empty.