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| Captain Bruce and his First Mate, "Girl" |
I grew up on an island at the west end of Lake Erie where I was first introduced to boating with my folks and family on our power boat. I moved to southern California in 1984, at age 24, and after graduating college with a Bachelor’s Degree and an MBA. There I met several sailors. I started sailing regularly with “Lloyd”. I had spent 4 years in the 9-5 routine, when Lloyd, who was retiring, convinced me to quit my job and crew for him on his year-long sail down the Pacific coast of Mexico to Cabo San Lucas, and up into the Sea of Cortez. After that year, I was completely hooked. I’ve been living this life ever since – now going on 30 years.
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| Girl, just "hanging out" |
From 1989 until 2000, I had been sailing as crew on other people’s boats, spending four more years in Mexico from Baja to Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Acapulco and more, then down the Central American coast to arrive in Costa Rica in the Spring of 1993. As much as I loved traveling by sailboat, I decided to stay in Costa Rica so I moved back on shore. Because I was so close geographically, I decided to go to the Panama Canal Zone by bus, with the hopes of catching a ride with someone wanting to transit the canal. The rules for transiting the canal for small boats require that you have a captain (usually the boat owner), a Pilot (provided by the Canal Transit Authority at the boat owner’s expense), and four line handlers. The job of the line handlers is to man 200’ lines, two at the bow and two at the stern, while the lock either raises or lowers your boat. Because the lock system raises/lowers the boat by 85’, it is necessary to have such long lines to keep the boat in position. Pair that with the fact that small private boats can only transit in the company of a freighter whose length may be nearly 1000 feet, and that your little boat is close enough to actually touch the freighters, it is very difficult to keep the boat from sustaining any damage. Once they start to let water out (lowering you), or let water in (to raise the boat), significant turbulence ensues. No matter the difficulties, transiting the canal on a small boat is a memory for a lifetime.
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| Girl on the beach in the Bahamas |
I returned to Costa Rica where I found a small house on shore to rent while I explored and learned to love the country. It was in Costa Rica, living there for 7 years, that I learned to speak Spanish with a high degree of proficiency. While there, I met several cruisers, some on their way around the world, some going no further, and many returning up the coast back to the United States. I always kept alive my dream of sailing again, and in 2000 I moved back to the U.S. where I took a job just long enough to buy a sailboat of my own. It was a 28’ Pearson named “Cygnet” – a smaller version of Barefoot.
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| The Clementia II in Bimini, Bahamas |
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| Girl's favorite toy, a coconut! |
I spent the next several years sailing Cygnet on Lake Erie, and then in 2005, I quit my job, and bought a Westsail 32’ naming her the Clementia II (CII for short). This is truly an offshore sailboat, designed and equipped to sail around the world. Aboard the CII I spent the next 4 years sailing the Florida Keys and the Bahamas.
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| The Empire State Building and Manhattan, NY |
I also still owned the Pearson 28, and in 2006, I sailed her through Lake Erie, across the Erie Barge Canal, and down the Hudson River to New York City.
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| 30 Rock, Manhattan, NY |
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| Any doubt as to where???!!! |
From there, I went down the east coast of the US, through Delaware Bay, the Chesapeake, and the Intracoastal Waterway (including the Great Dismal Swamp), all of the way to Islamorada, in the Florida Keys. There was so much to see and do that even though I took 7 months, I could have easily spent a year or more.
The Pearson was sold in Florida and I continued to live aboard the CII, cruising the Florida Keys and Bahamas.
March 17th, 2007 was adoption-day for me and Girl. I had been thinking of getting a dog as a companion on the boat, and went to the Humane Society Shelter in Ft. Lauderdale to rescue a small one, under 15 pounds, more or less. As I passed several cages, I spotted a small female at the end, and as I passed the cage before that one, I mentally "heard" a dog call to me: "Hey! It's Me!! I'm the One!!!". I saw a 65 pound American Bull Dog, far above my weight limit idea. But her call was so strong, and the feeling was so profound, that I asked to have her brought to a private room to meet. That was all it took. Our bond was instantaneous. I could hardly wait the 5-day "think-it-over" period.
I brought her home on St. Patrick's Day, and consider that to be her birthday. She was about a year old already, not a puppy, and she was fully trained: House trained, leash trained, and she knew all of the typical commands such as sit, stay, lay down, come, etc. As a working-breed dog (they were bred for herding sheep and cattle), American Bull Dogs have a very tender, an affectionate disposition, while possessing energy to keep up with and watch over the herd. Girl loves everyone, and assumes that everyone loves her! For the next four summers, she and I worked as a hired captain (and mate) on a 41’ Morgan sailboat running charters out of Lower Matecumbe Key in Islamorada. I learned much about the Keys, their history, and the beauty both above and under water. I am certified as Open Water Diver by PADI, the most well-known SCUBA certification program. I obtained my US Coast Guard Master Captain’s License, and have passed CPR and Emergency First Responder Life Saving courses.
I purchased Barefoot in 2011, and now live full-time aboard with Girl.
