I was born in central Maine over 50 years ago -- and did not spend much time on the ocean until I met Stew (A.K.A. EW) when I was 26. From birth through college I lived primarily in central Maine, graduating from Nokomis Regional High School and the University of Maine at Orono. I played flute, acted in school plays, led pep rallies in high school and college, developed strong friendships, and learned a lot - - but nothing about sailing.
EW was born in central New York over 60 years ago -- and sailed extensively in the Great Lakes, and then along the coast of Maine and beyond before he was 30. He was not as involved in high school and college activities as I was. He did go to Woodstock. 'Nuff said.
My first career (I generally change every 6 or 7 years) was with the Maine Public Broadcasting Network where I eventually became Senior Producer. EW and I met when I spilled a beer on him at a bar in Portland. He had recently moved to the area and enjoyed listening to MPBN Radio and made the mistaken assumption that if I worked at the station, then I surely listened to and enjoyed the same music he did (blues and jazz). So, he invited me to a B.B. King concert.
On our third date EW said, "I sail and all of my friends sail." I already was smitten and thinking of a lifelong commitment so I said, "I'm sure I could learn." We were married in 1985 and over the next 17 years:
- We bought and renovated a house
- We restored two small boats
- I learned to sail
- Thoroughly enjoyed being a step mom as EW's son A.K.A. "Favorite" he moved in with us when he was 14
- I changed careers three times, from Public Television Producer to Media Sales to Independent Sales Rep. to Recruiter
- EW changed careers once -- after more than 25 years as a marine sales rep with a wholesale distributor, he became a yacht broker.
In 2002 we purchased La Luna, a 47 foot Chew Lee Sailboat, sold our house and most of our stuff and moved aboard. We lived aboard in Maine year round for eight years. On October 18, 2010 we slipped the lines and sailed south, heading to Florida by sailing along the shore via Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia. On Christmas day, we sailed across the Gulf Stream to Bimini and very gradually made our way to Grenada for hurricane season. We will continue to sail until we're done.
In January of 2011, I published a book on Amazon, Harts At Sea, Sailing to Windward. You can download it into your Kindle, or a free PC or Apple for Kindle program for only $2.99. I hope you like it.
