My life and sailing adventures
I was lucky enough to grow up on the coast of Maine. My father Abbot was a remarkable sailor, and along with my mom and two sisters, we raced and cruised together throughout childhood and beyond, right up until his death in 1999. From about age ten I wanted to venture over the horizon, and have largely devoted my life to doing so. This is a place to share articles and stories from my life, mostly from my sailing adventures.
This blog describes voyages I’ve made over the course of my life. In this brief bio I’ve tried to tie the stories together: how I came to make long-distance cruising a priority and how I navigated the career/sailing balance.
Points East magazine asked my dad and me to write stories about sailing in Maine in the 1960s and 70s for their inaugural issue, which came out in April 1998.
More important than competence, is for a crew “to have the right outlook. Activity can be instilled and competence can be acquired, but the right attitude must be ingrained – the cheerful acceptance and endurance of small privations and wearisome duties and the unquestioned belief that the success of the voyage and the care of the ship is what matters most. ‘This ship, the ship we serve, is the moral symbol of our life.’” – H.W. Tilman “Ice with Everything”
Two of my best friends and I each took a year off from college and sailed from Maine to the Windward and Leeward Islands.
In 1982 I left Maine with my wife and 9-month-old son and set sail across the South Pacific
In December 1984 my pal Rob Andrews and I decided to sail my Westsail 32 from New Zealand back to Maine by way of Cape Horn. The non-stop journey to the Falkland Islands would cover about 5,600 miles through the "Roaring 40s" and "Furious 50s" and take us right over so-called "Point Nemo" at about 49 South, 123 West, the point on earth furthest from any land. These are the preparations we made to the boat.
After two years cruising the South Pacific, it was time to return to Maine. On a spur-of-the-moment decision, I decided to do it via the Southern Ocean and Cape Horn with my Canadian pal Rob Andrews. Following is the story written for Sail Magazine.
This is a transcript of my journal during a 5,600 mile voyage from New Zealand to the Falkland Islands in my Westsail 32, January 9 – March 1, 1985, with crewmate Rob Andrews.
Photos from a 1991 voyage to 78 North
A tribute to my father, Abbot, who was admired and beloved by all who knew him.
My wife Lynnie and I took a break from our careers, got married, and headed to Cuba and the Western Caribbean before heading to Spain.
After wintering in Rota, Spain we sailed into the Med as far as Turkey before heading back to Maine via the Caribbean.
A sail with my friend Fin Perry into the remote and seldom-visited Hudson Strait.
After resuming our careers following a 2001-2004 cruise from Maine to Guatemala to Turkey and back, my wife Lynnie and I set our sights on Norway. This article describes the voyage from Maine to Norway’s Lofoten Islands.
We fell in love with Holland and decided to make it our winter home. Our 2016 summer sail to Norway included a couple of remarkable personal reconnections.
The summer of 2016 took us from Holland to southern Norway, west Sweden, Denmark, and back to Holland via the Kiel Canal.
After five incredible years in Northern Europe it was time to start home. The summer of 2019 took us from Holland to Galicia, Spain from where we planned to head across the Atlantic … until Covid hit.
A Non-stop Transatlantic Voyage During Covid
I’ve wanted to sail to Antarctica ever since 5th grade when I read about Ernest Shackleton.
Sailing Stories - Max Fletcher 