My first sailing experiences were on Grand Traverse Bay in northern lower Michigan. Our family had a Rhodes 19 that we loaded up with friends, neighbors, and anyone else who wanted to go, so long as water wasn’t coming over the gunnels. Growing up, we were always in and around the water; sailing, waterskiing, fishing, paddling on any boat available. We poured over the old oversized Sailing magazine and spent hours tracing, redrawing, and ‘designing’ whatever we thought would be fast and cool, and yes, boat design has continued to be a pillar of a lifelong love of art and design.  

Wanderlust eventually took me west where I landed in the San Francisco Bay area, and thanks to those magazines we poured over as kids, I knew there was sailing to be done and in a world class venue. There I had the good fortune to race with several excellent programs and people. The most important takeaways were simple but still inform my sailing today; well run (and fast!) boats are quiet boats.  Ask questions, listen to your mentors and crewmates, and always anticipate, no matter what job you’re doing.  

There’s a flow to sailing that’s hard to explain, but we all feel it—a boat that is well balanced and trimmed, the sound of the water, wind in the rig, the breeze on your neck on the downhill ride. The dance of a start sequence and mark rounding. A night sail or the rolling swell off the coast. Sometimes you get on a boat with like-minded people and are just in sync. Some say it’s about the journey, but for me, it’s always been about who you’re on the journey with. That’s been my experience over the years sailing on the Great Lakes and West Coast, and as a customer, friend, and now as a colleague of the Swiftsure Yachts team. 

Mark is the past owner of an Express 34 and is the current owner of a Baltic 38dp which he sails locally and likens to owning and maintaining a beautifully designed and well executed mid-century modern house… but with a better front yard.