Saying Goodbye to an Avid Sailor

Five years ago, I got to know Marco Karpodines, the skipper of a Yorktown 34 foot sloop, through the Sailing Single club first as one of his sailboat captains, then as a member of his crew. I always found him to be a gentleman, a word I don’t use to describe most men these days.

The older we get the more often we have to say goodbye to friends. On March 21, at the age of 78, Karpodines died from cancer complications. This Sunday, dozens of his friends gathered to say goodbye at the Marina Venice Yacht Club, where Karpodines had been a director.

First we gathered on the wooden ketch of former MVYC Commodore Jonathan Grell who took us far enough out to sea for Karpodines’ brother, Nickolas Vassili, and nephew, William Vassili, to utter a prayer and then scatter the ashes. Then mourners graced the spot with flowers, long stem roses and a single lei.

Back at the club, violinist Geoffery Maingart played Max Bruch’s arrangement of “Kol Nidrei,” a heartfelt air in a minor key that Maingart had played at his own father’s funeral.

Next we spoke about our memories of Karpodines. Heidi Dunham, his former girfriend, was expressive, insisting that despite their breakup, she still loved him.

“He was one hell of a character who liked to be in control. On the sea, on his boat, he had the most blissful smile. For him sailing was pure joy. He was passionate about it,” she told me.

Troy Smith could barely hold back the tears. “He was always giving, although backing down was not in his vocabulary,” Smith said. “When he learned he had cancer he vowed to fight it. His spirit was strong. What foul wind would wrest my friend from my grasp?”

Karpodines’ nephew found it amusing that in the club we had all eaten his family’s recipe for Greek salad and chicken. He had been impressed by his uncle’s steel backbone. “He wasn’t afraid of very much,” he said.

Nancy Martinez said Karpodines was very welcoming.

“He was a very kindhearted man who made me feel at home when I first came to Sailing Singles,” she said.

Nickolas Vassili explained that he and his brother had grown up as Depression era kids in a Manhattan tenement. Karpodines’ knack with cooking came from their dad.

“My father could take the shoes off your feet, cook them and they would melt like butter in your mouth,” he told us.

Vassili speculated that Karpodines’ later success as an audio designer and engineer sprang from the love of music they had shared as a family, especially through the outdoor summer classical concerts they had frequented as children.

“We had the best musicians in the world play for us, including Jascha Heifetz,” he said.

Then it was time for a potluck dinner and multiple toasts of Champagne, Karpodines’ favorite beverage.

As a longtime sailor, I intend to be buried at sea. I only hope that it will be how Karpodines went, sent off on his final voyage by family and friends who loved him.