Brief boating bio: began sailing on my dad's boats at age 4 months in the mid 30's. For my 5th birthday present, I asked to be allowed to solo a small sailboat. My father had a 26 foot sailboat which he had rebiult during WWII and was launched as soon as a mooring (between pilings)in San Pedro Ca was available in 1946. We sailed every weekend. At age 13 I won my first ocean race-when my father was out of town. I continued to race his boat until college.
During 7 summers I worked at Catalina and at other summer camps as a maintance man. When in Med School at Baylor (Houston), I purchased a 15 foot outboard runabout and on weekends/summers and Holidays, I ran the ICW from New Orleans to Brownsville Texas, camping on the beach. In 1961 I pruchased a 27 foot "Owen's Sea Skiff" which we fished for a year or so, but sailing was still my love, and so I purchased a 29 foot Columbia Defender and raced it at least twice a week in S. Calif. I would sail from Redando Beach to Long Beach on most Friday nights, raced all weekend, and sailed back "home" on Sunday night. I lived aboard this boat for 6 years during my Internship and Residency--and part of the time I taught at UCLA Med school. My first trip to Baja was in 1963. Thru the years I made multiple trips up and down the Coast of Calif. and Mexico as far North as San Franscisco and as far South as Cabo. During 1967-69 I was stationed at Fort Lee VA courtesy US Army, and spent every weekend sailing the Chesapeake--mostly on boats owned by facuality at Medical College of VA, where I also had a teaching appointment.
Returning to S. Calif. I owned a series of racing boats up to a 45 footer. One year we did over 100 races. Did all of the West Coast Races, including the Transpac, a number of Mexican races, such as the Puerta Vallarta race--won a number of trophies. But we also had a series of smaller power boats--from 18 to 24 feet. In 1978 we purchased a bankrupt boat building company and built a 38 foot cruising sailboat. Marie and I took 5 months off--initially heading to Hawaii, but aborted that part of the cruise and headed to Seattle. By the time we got to Humbolt Bay, Marie said the famous words "Buy me a pilot house boat and take me South and I will follow you anywhere". We spent several months in the Sacramento Delta. So we sold the 38 footer--I think we figured that we "made" about $3.00 an hour for our effort. (I was in private practice of internal Medicine/Nephrology and Marie was an RN hospital administrator)--we had both worked 8 to 9 hours a day at our professions, plus spent 7 to 8 hours a day boat building.
We purchased a Force 50 (Bill Garden design 53 feet on deck, 62' LOA) Ketch--which was almost new but had been donated to UCI. I immediately quit practice and began to outfit the boat for cruising. We had already flown to the S. Pacific, sailed there, Australia, and New Zealand with friends, and sailed to Hawaii, so we decided to take 4 years and sail to Europe. We left in the Fall of 1982, sailed down to Mexico, thru the Panama canal, to San Blas Islands, back to Key West via Honduras, Isla Mejeures, then up the East Coast to the Canadian Border--I had to have back surgery in Nov. 1983 and we could not leave Norfolk VA until January 1984. In May we sailed from Datona Beach to Bermuda, Azores and Spain. We encountered a full storm (6 days of 65 to 75 knot winds, and 40 to 45 foot seas in route). We cruised the Med as far East as Turkey, for the next year or so, then up the West coast of Europe and spent a summer in the Baltic. Next back to Portugal, Madara, the Cannaries and across the Atlantic to Barbados. We spent 7 months in the Caribbean, visiting all of the Islands, and eventually sailed back thru the canal to Long Beach in late 1985.
I went back into practice--then director of Athletic Medicine at CSULB, and retired in 1992. We had sold the Force 50, and had a series of small boats--up to 27 feet. We found a derelict Cal 46, and completely gutted it, and rebuilt all systems. We left California in April 1993 and spent 3 years cruising the PNW, 3 trips up the Inland Passage, all different routes, so we covered much of that area--including the outside of the Islands, South of Icy Straights down to the Queen Charolettes and Vancouver Island. Back down the Coast to Long Beach--later that winter to Mexico, Central America (they had stopped shooting by that time, so we explored all of the countries), back to Panama, down to Columbia, and up to Rio Dulce, Belize, Mexico and up to Pensacola FL. We have also cruised all of the gulf coast, and Florida--up and down the ICW several times. Some trips up the Rivers. I gave professional lectures on medicine at sea, safety at sea, "secrets to successful cruisng", anchoring, storm tactics, preparation for cruising, and series of lectures with slides and movies of our various adventures. I was a commodore member and on the BOD of Seven Seas Cruising Association.
I had admired the C Dory since I saw one of the first ones in the late 70's in Long Beach CA--We purchased the C Dory 22 several years ago, and used her in S. Calif. Lake Powell and the PNW for 3 years.
Health issues precluded our continuing to sail. We owned a series of trawlers, then an express cruiser, and finally this last year, we decided that we wanted a trailerable Catmaran. Thus the C Dory was selected after sea trialing Glacier Bay, World Cat and Twin Vee boats.
During the last few years I have been doing informal, pro bono marine surveys on over 200 hurricane damaged boats. Mostly to let potential buyers be aware of the problems in the boats, how to repair the boats and estimated costs of repair of the hurricane damaged boats---yes I bought one and fixed it up. Fortunately it was only 18 feet--I lost the bid on the 56 footer--much to Marie's relief!
I also have been working on a project on non destructive testing of fiberglass hulls and combined laminates, with various forms of ultrasonic technologies--long story. We have successful technologies, but the equiptment is too expensive at this point to make it practical for the average marine surveyor.
I do quite a bit of consulting on pruchase of boats and have been consulting on outfitting boats for long distance cruising for about 30 years. I have put together hundreds of medical kits for long distance cruisers when I was in practice.
I suspect that this is a lot more than you wanted to know....
