My interest in boats probably first started when I was around 6. I had a book that I loved that had a cutout drawing of a ship that showed the detail of all the levels and cabins. I can remember carrying that book around and poring over how it was put together and how cool it was that people could live on it and travel around.

However, like so many things during childhood this phase passed on and was forgotten. Or should I say misplaced? During college, in my search for low cost housing I decided that living on a boat represented the least expensive (and coolest) way to keep myself in beer and Top Ramen and I began looking for a boat of my own.

Around this time, I started dating a girl who had cruised Mexico and the South Pacific with her family when she was 6 and her stories helped firm out my plans. I was going to buy a sailboat and sail it to Mexico during the next summer. Ahh youth.

I convinced some friends of mine (who incidentally had similar amounts of sailing knowledge) that my dream was their dream and between the three of us, we sold, borrowed and stole enough money to buy a 40 foot wooden sailboat that was the previous domicile for a family of 4, one dog and a diabetic cat. Needless to say, the boat needed some work. Our first haulout took 2 ½ months and our summer plans of sunny Mexico were put off and then discarded. Probably for the best.

We lived for a couple of years on that boat mostly working on it and very occasionally sailing in the Bay. It was a great learning experience and lead to other boats and sailing trips and some racing in the Bay. I did eventually make it to Mexico and the experience there has encouraged other plans including being a part of this race. Almost nothing beats a tropical landfall and I’m very much looking forward to experiencing that again. Besides, with a boat name of Kali O Kalani, where else would I sail?