The Coral Gables Times

Thursday, June 1, 1961, page 6 (of 20)

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Boy, Boat, 66 Years And You Have a 'Pal'

By RAYMOND LANG Times Staffer The endless miles of the sea and the ships that sail it, these have been the life of John D. Knight. He's 75. What of the day it all started? "I learned to sail when I was nine," said Knight, a retired lieutenant commander with the U.S. Maritime Service living at 521 Zamora Ave. "I had tried to make a boat myself, just a couple of planks with a bottom across it. BEST WE COULD "There was another little boy and myself and we fashioned this thing the best we could. "We had a couple of boards for oars and we paddled out. Anything to get us going." Knight laughed heartily, a twinkle skipping through his blue eyes. "But we had gotten about 10 or 15 feet from shore when the boat opened up and let us down. "I was afraid to go home with my clothes all wet. So I went in the back door and everything was fine until dinner." Knight ran a sun-tanned hand through his grey hair and propped his feet up on an ottoman. He was dressed in brown shorts and a blue shirt. STORY TOLD "Everything was fine until my brother said, 'Father, what do you think John did today?' The story about the manshift boat unfolded on unsympathetic ears. Knight's father scolded John for a foolish risk. Shortly, he took him out and taught him to sail. The Gableite's love for the sea earned him a leutenant's bars in World War I and a job as navigation officer for merchant ships in the 20's. "But the Navy was expecting trouble from the Japs," Knight said, "so in September of 1941 they asked me if I wouldn't be a hull inspector." From 1941-45 and 1951-57, Knight "watched the construction of the ships every minute of the time" and helped build 670 ships. RUNS DEEP Love of the sea runs deep in the Knight family. "I had one grandfather and four uncles who were all sea captains," he said. Walking into the dining room, he pointed to a photograph on the wall. It was a plaque engraved with names; at the top in bronze was a ship like the Mayflower. His finger pointed to the names of Richard and John Knight. "Now, they're my great ancestors. "And they were among the first to come to this country. They landed in 1635 in Newbury port, Mass." Pictures of ships hung on the living room wall along with a ship's bell. On a bookcase shelf stood a model of a clipper ship. The ship's clock rang out, cutting into Knight's reminiscing. "The sea's a delight of life," he said. "It's a pal. And I miss it." -Staff Photo by RAYMOND LANG JOHN D. KNIGHT

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