About the Ship.

Shearwater is a 1976 Ericson 36C, a fiberglass yacht with a main and two headsails, a fin keel, and a transom-hung rudder all designed by Bruce King. If that doesn’t mean much to you, let’s break it down further. The boat is 36′ long, 12′ at her widest point, and extends about 6′ below the water line. She is equipped with a 24hp diesel inboard engine, a couple new self-tailing winches, and an electric windlass for the anchor. There is a non-pressurized alcohol stove and a pressurized water sink in the galley, a manual head with a small holding tank, and both aft berth tucked below the cockpit and a V-berth in the bow. No refrigerator but instead I have opted for an ORCA roto-molded chilly bin for all my cooling needs.

About the Captain.

On some days, the mirror reflects a 36 year old perpetual bachelor, a card-carrying bi-polar and clinically depressed individual with social anxiety, ADHD, and an occasionally alarming relationship with alcohol. A man who prides himself utmost on his work ethic but who’s itinerant inclinations has led him to hold more jobs can reasonably be rationalized and who, in some sad irony, has only ever been asked to leave a position when he was self-employed. A so-called writer who can’t even get an email in response to his publishing queries. A sailor–with a minuscule ‘s’–who feels doubt at the helm of his ship in even the best of conditions.

On other (infrequent, though beautifully charitable) days, the mirror speaks thus: I am functionally quadrilingual, to varying degrees. I own a beautiful little cottage in California, I founded a heralded enterprise before I turned 30 and I’ve worked for wineries in 9 countries across 5 continents. I’ve written a novel and someday may even publish it. At 36, I still have a full head of thick (though likely unkempt) blond hair. I embrace new challenges and frequently feel out of step with the world in large part because I push myself unhesitatingly into unfamiliar territories.

The truth is not in the middle. The truth is each extreme at the same time, even though I may not experience it as such. I have no interest in this being a blog which excludes either of these parts of me. This will not be a “travel blog” of the type designed to evoke jealousy in my readers through endless accounts of vacation paradises. On this journey, I am no doubt both running away from and running toward elements of life and I hope to capture each of those in an utterly open and honest manner.

About the First Mate.

No sweeter creature has graced these waters, of that I have few doubts. Succinctly, Momo is a delight, certainly not without her own eccentric individualities.