Freebird sails again

Lifelong sailor Kurt Pfitzner takes his restored sailboat for a spin. Photo courtesy of Kenneth Boone.

Neighbors told Kurt Pfitzner that the boat had been in the woods since 1990. Rumor had it the late owner’s son just wanted it moved from his property, so after some investigation and conversations, Pfitzner, along with Larry Amerson, rolled the 1970-era mold and tree sap encrusted sailboat off the wooded grove where she’d been parked 20 years ago. They moved her to Pfitzner’s lot around the corner last July for restoration, but from the beginning, it was Amerson’s boat, Pfitzner said.

A die-hard sailor, Amerson started sailing in 1971 on Lake Sinclair in Georgia.