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On this idyllic California summer morning, Soncy, a classic 40ft Rhodes-designed sloop built in 1957, is on her way to Santa Catalina Island. On board are owner John Clark Jr., his 10-year-old son, Ian, and me. As we motor out of Newport Harbor while raising the sails, two other sailboats come within shouting distance, and their…
By Michael E. Petrie August 2010 SAIL Magazine In July 1965, at the tender age of 16, Robin Lee Graham set out on a 33,000 mile, five year circumnavigation as the youngest solo sailor in the smallest boat: a Bill Lapworth designed 24 foot sloop named Dove. His voyage was famously covered by National Geographic…
By Michael Petrie They say you never forget your first time. For me, cruising offshore began onboard Azulo, a 20-year-old, 31-foot Mariner ketch. Three friends—Dave, Karl, and Allen—and I set out to follow the path of 19th-century writer Richard Henry Dana, up the California coast. A motley crew of four young sailors off sailing the…
By Michael Petrie When you’re an intelligent, successful, physically fit, forty-something woman with a busy medical practice who pursues life experiences with real fervor, where do you turn for new challenges? My friend, Dr. Helen Tam, 47, from Irvine, California, has pursued her newest interest—sailing—with all the passion of a love-smitten teenager. In the span…
By Michael E. Petrie SAIL Magazine Octogenarian John Garau is standing on the deck of his sailboat home in Dana Point, California. His boat, an Ericson 27 that he bought way back in 1978, is in pristine condition, still looking almost new despite the countless nautical miles logged. “I had a nice, big house in…
