My love of sailing started at a young age with my parents and grandparents on the Maine coast – on charter boats in the summer and the British Virgin Islands in the winter months. Little did I know that the ocean would take over my life as I grew up and branched out from the small cruising world I had grown to love to commercial vessels in the Pacific Northwest and now to Swiftsure Yachts.
Fast-forward a few years; my parents bought their own boat, a Bob Perry designed Islander 32. We had a blast cruising the Maine coast from the popular Casco Bay to barren and beautiful Roque Island. There were some mishaps along the way that I learned from for my own adventures later in life. Sailing our Puffin dinghy around in the afternoon is where my affinity for dinghy sailing and close quarter maneuvering began.
From there I went to a few sailing camps and learned about fun on the water and helped teach as well. My love for the ocean finally blossomed as I went into my senior year of high school. I went to Orcas Island in Washington for one summer to rekindle a family friendship; I moved onto their sloop-rigged aluminum Frers 50 for the summer and I fell in love with boat life.
We sailed, we cleaned and most importantly we showed other people why sailing is so great. Sharing sailing with fresh eyes is one of the most gratifying experiences and definitely guided me to a career in the marine industry.
I attended Maine Maritime Academy (MMA), which was my college of choice after that summer. This education also lead me to a successful bid with the intercollegiate sailing program which started even before classes did.
I spent my whole summer once again, working, cleaning and sailing, part of the Gulf Of Maine Ocean Racing Association. We piled the team on the Nelson Marek 46, Dobroth 43 and Britt Chance custom One Tonner and charged up and down the coast on the weekends. During the week we would carpool up to Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island and sail classic International One Design boats with the summer fleet. There I learned lots of tactical maneuvers and developed quite a competitive edge for keelboat and dinghy sailing.
I was happily welcomed on to the varsity sailing team and participated in the Student Yachting World Cup in France. In mid October we traveled to La Trinete-Sur-Mer to race Grand Surprise 32s in rugged fall conditions on the Bay of Biscay.
The rest of my collegiate sailing career included lots of dinghy racing on 420’s, Flying Juniors, and Colgate 26’s for the dinghy team and Navy 44s and Catalina 27s for the offshore team. We traveled throughout New England every weekend for various races and every spring to Los Angeles for the LA Harbor Cup. At the Maritime Academy I earned my degree in Vessel Operations and Technology and hold a 100 ton master 500 ton mate with a Towing endorsement and Auxiliary Sail endorsement.
After graduation in 2015 I moved to the Pacific Northwest with my now husband, and worked on tug boats. For five years I towed gravel, assisted fishing vessels and a variety of other odd jobs from the Puget Sound to British Columbia. My husband and I worked in the maritime field and our sailing careers have thrived. We now own a Melges 24, a Tasar and a Farr 50, which we live aboard. We crew for many of our friends on various other small keelboats for buoy races and fill in on a Trans Pac 52 when more hands are needed. The Melges 24 lends itself well to races around the Puget Sound and local buoy races. We continue our upbringing of cruising whenever possible and skiing in the winter months when the water is less forgiving.
I take great interest in knowing the mechanical and operational side of all boats, and I will look to find one that fits your criteria. My versatile knowledge of vessels both sail and power driven is unique and will be of great assistance while I learn the ropes at Swiftsure Yachts.