About

I have loved the water for as long as I can remember.  Growing up in Northeastern Ohio, I spent a lot of time at Hovercraft rallies or sailing on a small inland lake; and sometimes Lake Erie.  When I wasn’t on the water, I spent a lot of time in “Northcoast” Great Lakes towns from Cleveland to Vermilion.  Yes, I do actually like Cleveland — and feel fortunate to have grown up near the Great Lakes. 
 

Esterle Hovercraft

Me (passenger) riding a Hoverbike hovercraft when I was young

 

School lead me to study Chemical Engineering & Polymer Science at The University of Akron.  A Co-op program helped me put myself through school with hopes of working in polymer recycling.  I did that for a few years — turning soda bottles and X-ray film into carpet and clothing fiber.  It was a great job and really fun to learn about (yes, I’m that geeky) the science and munufacturing process.  However, I was living in a town that was way too small; and didn’t have anywhere near enough sailing.  A job change brought me to the Annapolis area in 1998; and I’ve been racing sailboats since 2006. 

As a child, I spent time in the shop helping my Dad build stitch & glue hovercraft.  Yes, you can get a 6 year old to crawl into a really small space and help with construction if she thinks it’s a game.  I’m sure that early experience lead me to study engineering. 

Over the years, I’ve worked on  multiple boat rennovation projects — many of them in pertnership with my Dad.  My favorite boatworking tool is an angle grinder; and I have an extreme dislike for the stickiness of 3M 5200.  I’ve logged plenty of hours working on cruising boats — but, to me, the real fun is getting out on the water and going fast in a racing sailboat. 

I’m afraid of heights, but I’ll be the first one to go up the mast.  I can rationalize that I’m safe in my harness because it was designed and tested by engineers — and engineers are smart : ) No, fears are not rational. 

I’m always cold.  So, I’m looking for warm weather sailing opportunities and vacations as soon as the weather starts to turn cold.  Although, I did the pool portion of my scuba certification in an outdoor pool with a bubble over it during a February ice storm (what was I thinking?!).  My open water dives were completed in St. Martin and Mexico because I didn’t want to dive in a cold quarry in a mid-Atlantic state.