Cheoy Lee 41"Astraea"

Off shore on board Modern Sailing Academy boat Polaris with John Connolly as part of an eight day MSA course in March of 2007.

Most of my life has been associated with the sea.  I learned to sail at the US Naval Academy when I was a midshipman.  At the Academy, when I was 17, I had my first sailing lessons during "plebe" (freshman) summer on small "knockabouts", small wooden sailboats without engines.  After mastering the fundamentals of sailing on these basic boats we had classes on what was then the primary Naval Academy sailing vessel, 41 foot Luders yawls.  I enjoyed that first summer of sailing so much that I spent the next four years at the Naval Academy as part of the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, sailing and racing these beautiful 41 footers throughout the Chesapeake Bay. 

During my four years at the Naval Academy much of my formal college studies were centered around naval engineering, navigation, meteorology, seamanship, and countless hours of other courses to prepare me for a career as a naval officer.  After graduation I spent 21 years as a Surface Warfare Officer, retiring at the rank of Commander (O-5).  During those 21 years I spent 14+ years at sea in a variety of jobs including navigator, deck officer, chief engineer, and executive officer.  I made ten 6 month deployments and traveled throughout the world on a number of naval warships in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, the Meditteranean, the Caribbean, the Persian Gulf, literally travelling every major area of the world. 

After the Navy I entered the corporate world in the field of Information Technology.  In 2005 my new career took me to San Francisco where I renewed my long relationship with the sea by buying Astraea, my Cheoy Lee 41 ketch. 

It had been a number of years since I had sailed, and my partner of 27 years, Bob, had never sailed.  We therefore signed up with Modern Sailing Academy (MSA) in Sausalito.  Between 2005 and 2008 I completed the following ASA courses at MSA, under the instruction of two of the finest sailing instructors anyone could ever hope to find:  Suzette Smith, a member of the All Women's America's Cup Team, and John Connolly, one of the most experienced sailing instructors in the USA.  My formal training at MSA included completing the following courses:

ASA 101 - Basic Keel Boat (Instructor Suzette Smith)

ASA 103 - Basic Coastal Cruising (Insructor Suzette Smith)

ASA 104 - Bareboat Chartering (Instructor John Connolly)

ASA 105 - Coastal Navigation (Instructor John Connolly)

ASA 106 - Advanced Coastal Cruising (Instructor John Connolly)

ASA 108 - Offshore Passagemaking (Instructor John Connolly)

The Offshore Passagemaking was done during a 15 day sail in the South Pacific from the Marquesas to the Tuomotus. 

In addition, Bob and I spent approximately 30 hours under private instruction by Suzette Smith aboard our own boat, Astraea, to learn how to properly sail her particular sailing configuration. 

Over the past four years Bob and I have sailed the SF Bay extensively and made trips to Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Half Moon Bay. 

As of December, 2008, I retired early and began preparations for extensive cruising.