I fell in love with sailing as a teenager and racing at the local lake in Minneapolis, MN. My wife and I took a keelboat and bareboat training class in Tampa Bay, FL in 1992 followed by our first, of several, bareboat charters in the BVIs via Moorings in 1993. A work relocation to the San Francisco area allowed me to join Club Nautique's Sausalito location. I was able to challenge and test out of the keelboat and bareboat certifications and I completed the Coastal Navigation certification before work sent me to a project in the midwest. Bareboat charters are listed on my sailing resume. Raising three daughters limited sailing opportunities to day rentals during family vacations and the occasional Moorings type charter at the BVIs and along the Florida Keys. Our daughters are grown and have started living their own lives.
I was educated as a Geological Engineer and spent my work career as a project manager specializing in environmental cleanup/remediation. As a project manager I needed to be organized and a good communicator. Successful project management is about leadership and the skills to take a diverse group to become a Team with genuine buy in to the project objectives. An important skill is a knack for getting professionals, who I had no authority over, to work on my project's tasks allowing the project to stay on schedule and budget. I enjoyed the people I worked with and I had the opportunity to work on interesting projects across the country. I am not a fan of close-minded, controlling, or ego driven personalities, but I know how to get along and keep the peace.
I now have the opportunity to retire and transition from a rigid work environment to a flexible and nimble future with a keen interest in boating. My wife will continue to work for the next several years making the purchase of a boat as our retirement home not practical for the near-term. My wife has decided that sailing is not for her and has a dislike for not being able to see the shore. If we are going to be a boating couple it will be on a trawler.
My experience on boats through the years has been an eye-opener that the boating lifestyle is not cheap and may not fit into the long-term "retirement plan".
I am fascinated with the potential of boat deliveries being able to satisfy the boating itch without the burden of ownership.
Highlights of my boating history includes the following:
24. 2024 - Trawler Boat Delivery transversing the Trent Severn Waterway, Canada. Assisted the boat owner to lock through the Trent Severn Waterway. Responsibilities for this 7 day and 240 mile journey was to assist the boat owner with standing watch and assisting with lock line handling and collision avoidance.
23. 2024 - Sailboat Delivery Fort Pierce, FL to Albany NY. Assisted the boat owner deliver a 38 foot Beneteau with a 9 day and 1,100 mile adventure along the Gulf Stream to New York City and up the Hudson, at night, to Albany. The Transit was made without an autohelm, chart plotter, or mainsail. Responsible for standing watch, navigation, and cooking.
22. 2024 - Trawler Boat Delivery Stuart, FL to 1,000 Islands Area, Canada. Assisted the boat owner with a 33 day 1,600 mile journey along the east coast following the ICW or near shore transits, weather permitting. The passage included Navigating the Hudson River, Erie/Oswego Canals, and Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence River. Responsible for standing watch, route planning options based on weather forecasts, and routine boat maintenance.
21. 2024 - 50 foot Ocean Alexander Trawler Boat Delivery Washington, NC to Indiantown, FL. Assisted the boat owner with a 17 day 1,178 mile journey mostly along the ICW. We completed a 60 hour offshore leg from Morehead City to St. Augustine. Responsible for standing watch, chart navigation to locate anchorages, cooking, and general boat maintenance.
20. 2023 - 48 foot Trollycraft Trawler Boat Delivery Norfolk, VA to Stuart FL. Assisted the boat owner with a 14 day 1,000 mile journey along the ICW. Responsible for standing watch and assisting with a number of boat projects and general maintenance.
19. 2023 - 32 foot Sailboat Delivery New Bedford, MA to Norfolk, VA. Assisted the boat owner with a 12-day 450-mile journey with a stop at Cape May. NJ to wait on favorable weather conditions. Responsible for standing watch, conducting several repairs, and routine preventative maintenance tasks.
18. 2023 - 38 foot Sailboat Delivery Hawaii to Tacoma, WA. Assisted the boat owner with a one month 3,000 mile adventure in the Pacific ocean. Wind conditions required a northern sail nearly to Alaska before heading east to Tacoma. Night watch, cooking, and mechanical repairs throughout the journey.
17. 2023 - 42 foot Trawler boat Delivery Cape May, NJ to Albany - assisted the boat owner with a one week and 300 mile journey up the Hudson River. Unfortunately, engine trouble ended the journey at Sandy Hook at the entrance to NY harbor. Spent one week on the boat assisting with routine maintenance, varnished railing, and troubleshooting electronics. Stood watch and line handling deck hand.
16. 2023 - 47 foot Vagabond Sailboat Delivery Virgin Islands to Main - Assisted the boat owner on a 1,500 mile and nearly 3 week delivery with a stop over in Bermuda. Watch standing, deck hand, and assisted with boat maintenance tasks.
15. 2023 - 55 foot Maple leaf Sailboat Delivery BVIs to Florida - Assisted the boat owner on a 1,500 mile and 5 week delivery consisting of several overnight segments. Further assisted the owner to prepare the boat for sale. Watch standing and deck hand.
14. 2020 - Harborlight Yacht Club - 700 Queensway Dr, Long Beach, CA 90802 – Charter Catalina 36 for a Long Beach harbor sail (Completed just in time for COVID to bring normal living to a halt)
13. 2019 – TMM, BVI – Lagoon 45 catamaran for 8 nights around the BVIs
12. 2018 - Marina Sailing, Newport Beach (Defunct) - 333 Bayside Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Chartered a Hunter 37 to Catalina Island and coastal cruising southern California
11. 2017 – Bareboat Sailing Charters (Defunct) - 5 Marina Plaza, Newport, RI 02840 – Charter Beneteau 42 for a weekend/overnight sail in Long Island Sound including to Block Island.
10. 2017 - Harborlight Yacht Club - 700 Queensway Dr, Long Beach, CA 90802 – Charter Catalina 40 for a southern California sail including overnight at Catalina Island
9. 2016 Harborlight Yacht Club - 700 Queensway Dr, Long Beach, CA 90802 – Charter Catalina 40 for a southern California sail from Long Beach to Newport Beach
8. 2014 Southwest Florida Yachts – Fort Myers, FL – 7-day Charter on a Catalina 38 along Sanibel Island and surrounding area
7. 2004 (Guess) – 7-day Footloose charter on a 46-foot Beneteau in the BVIs
6. 2002 through 2014 was a quite time for sailboat chartering while raising three daughters. Still vacationing in the southern Califorina area and always chartering a small Catalina (<30 feet) for a half-day sailing fix. Chartering would have been through Harborlight Yacht Club or Marina Sailing, Newport Beach.
5. 2002 (Guess) - 7-day Moorings charter on a 37-foot Lagoon catamaran from Miami along the Florida Keys
4. 1998 (Guess) - 7-day Moorings charter on a 44-foot Beneteau in Abacos, Bahamas
3. 1996 (Hurricane Bertha) – 10-day Moorings charter on a 46-foot Beneteau in the BVIs
2. 1993 (Guess) – 7-day Moorings charter on a 34-foot Beneteau in the BVIs
1. 1992 (Guess) – 14-day back-to-back keelboat and bareboat lesson class through SailTime Tampa Bay, FL (This is a big guess about which company provided our first keelboat and bareboat training).