I began boating at age ten on my father's 1936 international one design sloop. I learned quickly on the unforgiving waters of Lake Erie, on a boat that had none of the laborsaving devices of modern sailboats. I also crewed in races on a neighbor's highly maneuverable Thistle.

At age seventeen I entered the marine industry, washing boats for the local marine dealer, eventually attending factory service schools for marine technicians. Being a marine tech afforded me the opportunity to sea trial all sizes and configurations of powerboats.

Throughout the eighties I raced tunnel boats, highly maneuverable outboard powered catamarans that competed at speeds exceeding one hundred miles per hour. I was high points champion for the American Powerboat Association's Region 16 for seven out of the ten years I competed.

After beginning and operating my own boat dealership for eighteen years and performing over five hundred sea trials, I became a licensed captain. I not only hold a hundred ton Master's license with Great Lakes and sailing endorsements from The United States Coast Guard, but I also passed the the Republic of South Africa's extremely difficult Skipper's licensing test. For most of 2003 I commanded the "Zakat", a 44ft sailing catamaran out of Knysna, South Africa. The "Zakat" was one of only two boats licensed to take passengers through the Knysna Heads, one of the most dangerous inlets in the world.

My cruising experience includes such diverse locations as the San Juan Islands of Washington State, the Bahamas, both coasts of Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Keys, along with the Great Lakes and the Indian Ocean off South Africa. As owner of The Yacht Doc, Inc. I continue to operate various yachts throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas.