ken machtley

I got into sailing after graduating from college. My first boat was an old Snark, a car-top sailboat from the 60's. A friend and I bought it to learn something new and explore the outdoors of our new home on the east coast. The dream of sailing the world was soon born as I sailed on local ponds in New Jersey.

From this small beginning, I took a weekend class on "big boat" handling on a 30' sailboat at Annapolis Sailing School and chartered a few boats in the San Juan islands with friends. When I returned to live in Washington a few years later I bought a derelict San Juan 21 and restored her on nights and weekends before sailing her for a year on local lakes and Puget Sound.

The dream lived on and when Cath and I started dating we began planning to live the dream together. Less than three years later we left for what we hope to be the vacation of a lifetime!

cathy siegismund

While growing up in Seattle, my introduction to sailing came from several San Juan and Gulf Island charters with my parents. By the time I was 11, my parents had a Skookum 53 ketch built in Port Townsend. My parents' dream had been for us to circumnavigate; however, work and other priorities kept them from going offshore.

However, we did enjoy coastal cruising around Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands in Washington, and the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound in British Columbia. We also enjoyed some warm weather sailing, while chartering in the Caribbean.

My only blue water experience prior to our decision to go cruising, was being part of a return crew of a Vic-Maui boat while I was in college. We sailed the 67' Charley, from Maui to San Francisco.

I had not sailed since college, but began sailing with Ken on his San Juan; and soon we were discussing cruising and scouring the sailing magazines for possible cruising boats. Before we knew it, we were sailing out of Elliot Bay marina starting our new cruising life.