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The Cher-El-Sue is the name of the family boat on which I spent much of my childhood summers. Refurbished by my father, the 29-foot long wooden cabin cruiser was named after his “girls”—me (Cheryl), my mother (Ellen), and my sister (Susan).  We enjoyed frequent trips across Long Island Sound from our home in Mamaroneck, in the suburbs of New York City, to Port Jefferson on the north shore of Long Island.  Often we slept overnight on the boat. I recall one particular night when I was five or six years old that we encountered a severe thunderstorm while out on…