Sad News

It’s with a heavy heart that I write this. Our good friend Brion Toss has passed away. It feels like I have known Brion all my life, when I only met him in 2016. Brion was a kindred spirit to me. When we first met Brion he invited us to stay with him without knowing much about us. The only connection we shared was that he knew Lin and Larry Pardey and we bought Taleisin.

We first learned that Brion was sick just before we dropped anchor in Tonga after our first ocean passage. We have unfortunately not been able to go and see him in the meantime due to financial constraints and Covid-19 restrictions. It is fair to say that Brion was the last person in the world who deserved this. He was always health conscious.

We had the great pleasure of getting to know Brion on a personal level. He was a kind and very funny person. Brion was a lifelong friend that we only knew for a fleeting moment.

Here is a picture of us sailing with Brion on SV Martha during the Port Townsend Wooden boat festival. As with everything Brion was involved in, it was a richer experience because he was part of it. Brion had overslept on his nap and missed the boat. But in true class he was brought out by tender and boarded the vessel like the admiral.

Also in this set is a picture of the friendship knot Brion tied for us just before we left from our last visit. It’s been hanging on the little anchor in Taleisin ever since. We look at it everyday and it will stay there as a reminder of the wonderful times we had with Brion.

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In loving memory of Brion Toss

A post shared by Annie Ryan (@svtaleisin) on Jun 8, 2020 at 1:09am PDT

Brion, it’s been an honour to know you and be your friend. May you have fair winds and following seas!