Curtis Nixon built the ketch Trade Wind over nearly seven years in his backyard, dreaming of sailing away with his growing family. In September 1958, with six children in tow, the Nixons set sail on Trade Wind for a year-long voyage. After selling the boat, Curtis's son Gary spent decades searching for Trade Wind until discovering her in 1987. With Curtis and his family, they sailed her back to Detroit, completing the boat's journey home. Trade Wind continues sailing on Lake Erie today as a testament to the Nixon family's perseverance and spirit of adventure.

1. Wandering Trade Wind
20 September 1958 - 6 September 1959
A 50th Anniversary Tribute
by
Karen Nixon Lane

2. When the Nixon family gathers on September 20th
this year, it won’t be just another end-of-
summer get-together. They will be marking the fiftieth anniversary of their 1958 departure
from Grosse Ile Yacht Club on their Tahiti ketch, Trade Wind. The cruise lasted almost a
year and covered 6,000 miles – from Detroit to the Bahamas – and back.
Built by the head of the family, Curtis Nixon, in their backyard in Inkster, Trade Wind was
the realization of a lifelong dream. As many people do, he and his wife, Helen, talked about
their dream of building a boat and sailing away into the sunset – at the dinner table, over
breakfast, and in the evenings, just before drifting off to sleep.
A Day Like Any Other
Helen recalls the very day when the idea first came up. Curt came into the kitchen for
breakfast, dressed for work, on a day like any other day. With a funny little grin on his face,
he looked her straight in the eye and very casually said, “You know, I think I’d like to build
a boat.” Figuring that he meant a tiny little boat to trailer to the lake for a casual weekend
outing, she told him that if that’s what he wanted, he should do it.
When he later produced pictures and an article from Popular Mechanics that described
John Hanna’s beautiful Tahiti ketch design, she had a hunch that her life would not soon
be the same.
The Dream Begins
With a letter to Bay City Boats in March of 1952, the project began. They had several
months before the framework would be delivered, and Curt and Helen knew that they now
had a serious problem. Their house, a small bungalow on West Hills Drive, was situated
second from the corner, and the space between houses would be too narrow for Trade Wind
to be moved in and out. So they began looking in the newspapers for a small home on a
corner lot that they could afford on their boat-building budget.
Divine Intervention
They soon found one that sounded very similar to
their own. As if by magic, when they telephoned to
inquire about the house, they heard a familiar voice
on the line. It was their next door neighbor – the
one on the corner lot! So they made the deal and
moved into the house next door in time for their
delivery from Bay City Boats.
So it was that in early summer of 1952, Trade Wind settled in to her new surroundings on
West Hills Drive – home of the Nixons.

3. Goodbye, Hello
For four years, while Helen kept house and looked
after their children, 2-year old Curt Jr. and baby
Karen, Curt’s routine was the same. Six days a
week, there was breakfast, a kiss goodbye, then off
to work at the drafting room for ten or twelve hours.
Arriving home, there was a kiss hello, a change
of clothes, a quick dinner, and straight out to the
yard, where he worked late into the night with his
colleagues – the moon, the stars and a small trouble
light. Perseverance finally paid off when Trade Wind
was transported to Liggett Boat Works in Trenton,
Michigan in early spring of 1955 – and launched.
Over the next two years, Trade Wind was rigged,
outfitted and tested on Lake Erie. Two masts and
four booms had been carved out on sawhorses in
the back yard from lengths of Sitka spruce, using
planes and shapers. Lead ballast had been poured
into handmade forms in the garage, teak decks had
been laid, teak pulleys and ratlines carved, bronze
fittings constructed, the interior cabin finished – and
everything was painted, varnished or oiled. Trade
Wind was now a treasure among wooden boats –
and Curt Nixon’s masterpiece.
And Then There Were Eight
Trade Wind was designed to sleep four, with two
main cabin berths and a forward vee-berth. When
the boat building began, the Nixons were a family
of four, with another child already on the way. As
the project progressed and their dream inched closer
to reality, the Nixon family greeted new members –
almost every two years in alternating fashion –
Bobby, Cindy, Gary and Sheryl.
Seize The Day
By summer of 1958, Trade Wind was ready for
the open sea. In the nearly seven years it took to
build her, the Nixon family had grown – in size and

4. number. Their first child Curt Jr. – a toddler
when the dream began – was now nine years
old, a fifth-grader at Daly Elementary School –
and there were five others. All were growing
bigger by the minute, or so it seemed to Curt
and Helen. For the second time since the project
began, they knew they had a serious problem.
If they were ever going to sail away into the
sunset, they better do it soon, or Trade Wind
would be too small. They had saved up some money. There was nothing more for them
to do – except leave. And leave they did.
20September, 1958
The West Hills Drive neighbors had watched the Nixon family dream take shape
over the course of almost seven years, and now learned that the next chapter of this
incredible story would soon commence. The word was out: The Nixons would pack up
their belongings, take their kids out of school, lock up the house and sail away on the
twentieth of September – before the
cold Michigan weather set in.
The neighbors took up a collection,
went shopping, and arrived at the
Nixons back door on the night before
departure, pulling a caravan of little
red wagons – filled with groceries.
A Fond Farewell
On the morning of the 20th, friends,
neighbors, relatives – and even the
media – gathered at Grosse Ile Yacht
Club where the Nixons were making
final preparations for departure.
Provisions were stowed away, and
everything was checked over one last time – amidst a real celebration of achievement.
At last the time came and Curt made the call, “All ashore who’s going ashore!”After the
last handshakes, heartfelt hugs and tearful kisses, the shorelines were cast off and Trade
Wind motored away from her berth, up the canal and out onto Lake Erie – accompanied
by a twenty-one gun salute, and the cheering and waving of everyone on the dock.

5. September 20, 1958 marked the end of one era and the beginning of another for the
Nixons – Curt and Helen, their six children aged nine, seven, five, four, two, and eight-
months – and Ginger, the family mascot, a large collie. That day they set off on a unique
voyage,andwouldliveonboard
their 30-foot Tahiti ketch for
the next twelve months. They
would work together and play
together, while experiencing a
worldawayfromtheireveryday
middle-class routine.
Theirhomeatseawascramped,
and it lacked the modern
conveniences. There was no
television, telephone, stereo,
refrigerator, washer, dryer,
toaster or microwave – and there was no room for toys or other unnecessary extras. But
the tradeoff was well worth it. They developed companionship, compassion and a sense
of family pride that will never diminish. In their search for adventure, the Nixons found
happiness, contentment and peace of mind – just what Curt and Helen had in mind.
Postlude
After the trip was
over, Nixon family life
returned to “normal.”
Four months after their
return to Detroit, they
completed the crew with
anothergirl,Arlene.They
moved from their tiny
bungalow in Inkster into
a roomier, four-bedroom
ranch in Livonia.
As the children became older, it became more and more difficult to fit everyone
comfortably onboard, and eventually the family outgrew Trade Wind. As the children
became occupied with school and friends, Nixon family outings became less frequent,
and other activities replaced “going sailing. Eventually Curt and Helen accepted the
inevitable, and made the difficult decision to part company with their beloved little ship.
Trade Wind was sold in 1965.

6. In the mid-seventies, Gary began to search for Trade Wind. Curious to learn what
had happened to their family’s boat, he wrote to the people who had bought her and
successfully traced her through two other owners. The boat had been sailed around the
world more than once, and had been universally admired by the boating community.
For a decade, the search for Trade Wind continued – to no avail. In one final effort to
locate her, he ran an ad in the 1985 September/October issue of Wooden Boat magazine:
Gary Nixon is trying to trace the whereabouts of a 30’ Tahiti ketch built by his father,
Curt Nixon in the mid-50s. The boat was named Trade Wind and had teak decks and a
gaff rig. Gary has traced her to Fort Lauderdale where she was seen ten years ago, but
he doesn’t know where she is now. He’d like to find her, and his dream is to buy her and
bring her back to his father.
He got many responses to his ad with varying information, ranging from a report that
Trade Wind had sunk in the Virgin Islands to that of a man who claimed, “I’ve got your
boat in my backyard.” None of these stories proved to be true. It was is if Trade Wind
had just disappeared. Gary resigned himself to the fact that she was gone.
Soon afterward, however, he got a call from the commodore of the Newport Yacht Club
in Rhode Island. One of the boats that had been registered in their most recent wooden
boat show was a Tahiti ketch named Trade Wind. He provided Gary with the name and
address of the owner, and Gary made the call. The owners were staying with friends at
their home on the Hudson River and their boat, anchored offshore, was being prepared
for departure – Trade Wind was once again destined for the Bahamas!
Gary and his wife, Karen, travelled to
New York to learn whether this boat
was indeed his father’s masterpiece. His
heart skipped a beat when he spotted
her, but it was not until he actually
climbed aboard and saw the handmade
deckfittings and other original items
that he fully realized that he had found
the Nixon family’s pride and joy.
Trade Wind had been sitting in
drydock somewhere out East when
the new owners found her. She had
been neglected for some time, and they found the teak-and-mahogany dropleaf table
underneath the hull, covered with snow. They bought this boat – named “Elizabeth” –

7. and restored her to sailing condition. Noticing that the handmade spice rack hanging in
the galley was engraved with the words “Trade Wind”, they restored her original name
as well. Gary returned home to Detroit and shared the news of his discovery with the
rest of the Nixons on September 20th.
Despite all attempts to persuade them, Trade Wind’s owners would not consider selling
her at any price. They sailed her to the Bahamas, around the Caribbean and throughout
the Florida Keys. Gary made several more trips to visit Trade Wind before finally
receiving a letter from the owners informing him that she was now for sale if he wanted
her. She was docked in Marathon Key, Florida. After much family discussion, it was
decided – Trade Wind was coming home.
Curt and Helen had not seen Trade Wind since the day she sailed away with her second
owner at the helm. Curt, now 77 years old, flew to Florida with daughters Cindy and
Karen to make the deal. When he saw her at the dock in Marathon, his only words were,
“It’s her, alright.” A man who had
always kept his emotions to himself,
Curt simply stepped aboard and began
walking around, patting the cabin top,
stroking the rigging and coiling ropes,
while the official transfer of ownership
took place below deck.
Trade Wind was re-purchased in May,
1987, and sailed from Marathon Key
to Fort Lauderdale by Curt, Cindy and
Karen, after which it was hauled out and trailered the rest of the way back to Detroit.
She arrived and was launched in time for Father’s Day, 1987.
News about Trade Wind’s
homecoming brought visitors
to her berth, many of whom
remembered hearing the story
of “The Wandering Trade
Wind” back in 1958. Today she
sails Lake Erie out of Toledo
Beach Marina, looking better
than ever – and is still admired
by all who see her. She has won
numerous awards at wooden
boat shows around Lake Erie.

8. Curt passed away on his 55th
wedding
anniversary in February, 2000, with Helen
and his seven children at his side – just a few
months before his ninetieth birthday. Helen
celebrated her 90th
birthday last October,
and all of the Nixon kids live within a ten-
mile radius of the family home in Livonia,
where Helen still resides.
Trade Wind, the crown jewel of Nixon
family heirlooms, has made the journey
full circle, returning to her rightful home
on Lake Erie. She proudly sails today as
an enduring testament to Curt and Helen’s
hard work, perseverance – and spirit of
adventure.
FortheNixonfamily,thefiftiethanniversary
of their 1958 voyage is an occasion worth
remembering. But beyond that, the story of “The Wandering Trade Wind” offers
inspiration and hope for others with dreams in search of realization and lives in search
of enrichment. Enjoy... and continue to dream!
“She is still a thing of beauty, in spite of her age and many miles of
cruising. Her salty appearance commands attention and denotes her
ability to follow the trade winds to distant shores. I am proud to be her
builder and will always remember the many times when her seaworthy
ability kept me out of danger and brought me safely to port. Welcome
home, Trade Wind.”
- Curtis D. Nixon, “Life On The Ragged Edge”