There were no boats or sailors in my early life growing up in Portland,
Oregon. My first thoughts of sailing away occurred as I sat on top
of Vung Chua mountain in South Vietnam, overlooking the South China
sea. My first sail was on a charter cat off Waikiki beach while on
R & R in 1969. I got sea sick. After a little chartering in the
San Juan Islands, and much more sea sickness, I got serious about
sailing away. I read everything about sailing that was printed and
bought the first of my three Westsails in 1974.
I tried to live a more philosophically simple life and sailed away
from “Ma Bell” for the first time in 1978. There were
no electronics aboard but lots of anchor gear, fishing gear, and 10
sails.
As the years passed I grew into a Delivery Skipper and full time boat
worker. The cruising life was always top priority though. My wife,
Ruth Helsley, and I established a routine of taking a year off every
five years, or so, to do a little cruising. I have now been retired
7 years - one year at a time - since 1978. Unfortunately, during that
time, the sea sickness continued. My next sail will produce the big
“1000th time, I think.
My career as a Delivery Skipper has allowed a good balance of sailing,
adventure, and life’s satisfactions. The numbers have become
obscured but more than 150 sailboats have been delivered, totaling
over 150,000 nm. More than 1400 days have been spent at sea in small
boats.
I never aspired to be a sailboat racer. Eventually though, a very
burdensome chip developed on my shoulder. This was primarily caused
by my experiences with boats performance contradicting what I kept
hearing from others about boats. I was forced to dabble in racing.
My friends, Anthony Scribner, Brent Jordan, Tom Franco, Garry Weber,
Greg Mardock, and Craig Hull, all great sailors and friends from Portland,
allowed me to address the burdensome chip. We had good success racing
both locally and in the ocean during a relatively brief racing career
in the 80’s and early 90’s. . . the chip fell away
The single handing thing, like the racing was never a thought or desire.
It may sound trite but I only singlehanded because no one was aboard
the boat at the time I was sailing. As the years passed, the miles
in this category grew also. They now total near 40,000 nm.
During the last race (2008), I was plugged into the SHTP group in
a minor way, as I was helping my friend Joshua Siegel. It was a fun
experience. This, and a change in my work schedule has been the primary
motivation for doing this race. Also, last year was a “5 year”
marker in my life
I look forward to getting to know, what looks to be, a great bunch
of sailors..
NAVIGATION: Garmin 75 (2) from 1992. Furuno Radar.
Celestial navigation backup. Emergency navigation kit 2nd backup.
COMMUNICATION: VHF. ICOM M700Pro SSB. Sailmail.
STEERING: Aries Windvane. Tiller master (3) from
1975, plus spare parts.
POWER SOURCE: Alternator on diesel engine. 40W Solar
panel backup.
FOOD: No need to be specific. What ever I want, whenever
I want it. In huge quantities. Saraband is a Westsail.
SPECIAL THANKS: I have a great wife. I have great
friends and family. They help me immensely. Joshua Siegel is loaning
me half a boat load of stuff. I also have Sexton’s chandlery
and the Katke family here in Portland. I couldn’t get anything
done on boats without them. And, of course, Rob Tryon, for all the
help I’m going to get from him in the future.