My boating experience began as a teenager working on fishing boats at Manasquan, NJ. I joined the U.S. Coast Guard and served two years on a weather ship stationed in Staten Island, NY. My sailing experience began when I joined the Newport Sailing Club in Newport Beach, CA in the early 80's. After my kids moved out on their own, I bought an Islander 36, Pakele. I lived on her with the intention of going cruising, then I met my second wife who shared my same desire. We dropped the dock lines in 1999.The cruise wound up being a circumnavigation via South Africa. We left Pakele in Austria after two years of cruising the South Pacific. My wife decided not to continue. With the exceptions of friends meeting me in the Caribbean and Chesapeake Bay, the rest of the circumnavigation was singlehanded. I completed it in February 2007.I haven't done any ocean racing, so this will be a new experience for me. I have always enjoyed sailing and I look forward to sailing Pakele competitively.

Navigation: Garmin GPSMAP 162, Garmin GPS 12XL handheld, and paper charts.
Steering: Monitor wind vane and electric autopilot
Communication: SSB radio and VHF
Food: Canned soup and chill, sausage, hamburger, eggs, bread, potatoes and cheese (I have engine driven refrigeration).
Special thanks: To friends and family that support me on this venture.