Personal Profile

St. Croix to Panama We seem to be storm magnets — and flying-fish magnets… especially me. One Ocean has been surfing through gusts into the mid-40s with huge, heaving waves. Who knew the Caribbean Sea could throw punches like that? The “Christmas Winds” — the seasonal trades get stronger as the

We left Culebra with Antigua on the horizon and a clean plan: slip past the island, push out to the windward side of the Caribbean chain, and begin our long run south toward Uruguay. The trades had other plans. Predicted 15–17 knots became a relentless 20+ from the E/SE, gusting over 30. The seas

Still bruised from our crossing south across the Atlantic, Tess, Mark, Charley, and I had just about finished repairing One Ocean from the beating she took when I first heard whispers about a hurricane forming to the south. We were at dinner at Wahoo’s in St. George’s, Bermuda — celebrating our

All good sea tales start with “It was a dark and stormy night.” I know for certain of the One Ocean crew wished this tale would have none of those words. Unfortunately it does. My ties to the Skagit Valley College Marine Tech Center have been strong since my retirement. I was refitting all the

During our crossing from Lockeport, Nova Scotia to Bermuda, One Ocean and crew faced a storm that lasted 3 days with wind up to almost 70 knots and waves larger than their 48 foot ketch. This is a glimpse into what the team of four was dealing with while out there. I wrote this in a text to a friend

The wind had been rising all night. I lay in my bunk, listening to the familiar hum of One Ocean’s hull slicing through the waves, but I couldn’t sleep. It was still two hours before my watch, yet the pitch of the wind told me conditions were changing. We’d been short-handed the night before, a

One Ocean has been banging through choppy seas for more than 24 hours. The wind has calmed, but the water—stirred up by days of windstorms—remains restless, confused, and hard on the crew. Some have been seasick, all of us uncomfortable. Now, with the first light of morning, the sea is finally

I’ve been fascinated with wind since I was a child. I loved a good storm, and strong winds moved me so deeply I would write poetry about them. When my dad bought a sailboat, our family explored the Gulf Islands in British Columbia. Those adventures remain some of my best memories. I loved sitting on

Stormbound in Nain, Labrador There was a storm brewing off Labrador—one that quickly grew into back-to-back systems, nearly hurricane strength. We pushed One Ocean hard to reach shelter, aiming for the most northern settlement on Labrador Island: Nain, an Inuit community nestled in the wilderness

It all probably started 3-4 years ago when I started to watch Mike Beemer’s Tech Tips on the Skagit Valley College/ Marine Tech Program’s “Scallywags” YouTube Channel (highly recommended by the way). So, after owning sailboats (3), plus cruising and racing in and around the Salish Sea for 40+ years

As we swing at anchor in Kangiqtugaapik—in Inuktitut—also known as Clyde River, Patricia Inlet on Baffin Island, the wind howls through the rigging at a steady 22 knots, gusting over 30. One Ocean creaks, and I hear the water lapping against her hull. I’m curled up in my bunk. The crew is still

We departed Fort Ross, on the east side of Bellot Strait, early Tuesday morning, September 2. We’ve just passed our first official icebergs. Not floes or sheets like the ones we navigated earlier, but true icebergs. Sea ice forms when ocean water freezes into flat sheets that drift with wind and