American Sailing Yacht in the Med
Lighthouse in the Med
Video of "The Snapper"
As a Marine I had spent quite a good deal of time at sea in the 1980s and really enjoyed the power and solitude of the open Ocean. Always a creature of the sea, over the years I had moved from one nautical obsession to another. When I was stationed in Okinawa it was SCUBA. The pristine clear waters of the Ryukyu Islands afforded some of the most spectacular diving in the world and the live coral walls dropping off into the abyss were my regular playground; particularly at night when the reef came to life. Over a 4 year period I logged more than 300 dives. I was later assigned to Guam where I found the diving to be disappointingly unimpressive. Perhaps I had been spoiled in Okinawa but I soon found a new passion; deep sea fishing. The water was so deep off the coast of Guam that one only needed to head a mile or two offshore to be able to catch Mahi, Tuna and even Marlin. I bought an 18 foot Boston Whaler and a couple of rods and went out as often as I could. A couple of years later I found myself living in a small cottage on the York River of Virginia. Again, I bought a small fishing boat and went out as often as possible. Stripers, Flounder, Croaker and Catfish all fell before me.
Moving to Morocco in the mid-1990s I became enamored with surfing and that remains one of my greatest passions. When work took me to Dubai I was elated to learn that small Arab nation enjoyed regular, if not exactly ideal, surf. And, even when surf was poor or non-existent, some of the best surf spots in the world are just a short flight from the UAE. Oman, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and even Mauritius were regular destinations. The surfing community in Dubai has grown over the last 10 years to the point where Quicksilver now sponsors an annual surf contest. See link below for an awesome video of this year's event
DUBAI SUNSET OPEN SURF CONTEST
Returning to the USA in 2012 we relocated to the Outer Banks of North Carolina even though I work 3-4 days/week in the DC area. The need to be near the ocean and specifically the best surf on the US East Coast more than compensates for the 4 to 5 hour drive from Kitty Hawk to Northern Virginia.
Surfing Kitty Hawk on "Apocalypse Day" 2012
Surfing is great but….that damn boat trip in the Med made me long for distant horizons and ever more conscious of the ticking of my life's clock I decided it was now or never. After several months simultaneously searching and refining my requirements I purchased S/V Corsair, a 1980 Cabo Rico 38 and moved her to Herring Bay on the Chesapeake. In order to justify the purchase financially as well as being able to maximize opportunities to sail I decided I would give up my Northern Virginia "pied de terre" carriage house apartment and move aboard.
My lease expires at the end of May. My new home awaits…
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