I first took the helm at age 7 aboard a Lightning owned by friends of my parents. The memory of that is etched in my psyche in bold print. [...] The feel of the tiller, the play between the rudder and sails, the motion of the boat through the waves of Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan all can be brought to my present day senses with very little effort.
My parents supported my passion and bought my first Opti dinghy when I was 9. Many boats followed through my youth as winter was spent dreaming of sailing and summer was spent sailing or roaming the docks of 1960's Northport, Mi.
In junior high I started a summer tradition with two buddies of setting off for a 10 day sailing/camping trip on my friend Curt Dechow"s Snipe. First sailing 25 miles south to Marion Island in the bottom of Grand Traverse bay then 30 miles north to Lake Charlevoix the next year. 1971 found us sailing 50 miles to St. James, Beaver Island and then cruising through the Lake Michigan Archipelago.
Collage years and young adulthood found me owning a 20' Atkins designed yawl named Sea Mouse and working in boatyards. During this time I raced extensively on the N. Lake Michigan circuit and both Port Huron and Chicago to Mackinac races. In 1983 I did the private yacht captain thing skippering an Irwin 52 for a Fortune 500 CEO.
More boatyard operating and classic boat restoration filled the years until my early 40's while I raced with friends and cruised my Bristol 29 with family.
In march, 2011 I completed a grueling Everglades Challenge adventure race and started formulating the idea to sail one of my Cal 20's across the Atlantic.