The Charter Business

I can see several points where my life voyage has made important turns. Certainly, learning to sail as a young boy with my grandfather set me on the sailor’s way. Buying my first boat, Steppenwolf, which I’ve documented in the Casket Salesman Episode # 6 podcast. My military experience. Time away from the water while I went to school, married, divorced, etc. etc. etc. I was a domestic tragedy. The inflection points in my life as a sailor started as I document in My First Captain’s Gig Episode #4 podcast. It was later in the voyage of my life, that I wrote a couple of films, made some dough that I was ready to wander the seas.

It was 1976. I was running a cruise boat in New York Harbor. I had a full boat of 141 passengers, plus 30 waiters and chefs, and four actual crew. It was the Bicentennial Celebration, and I was positioning the boat in the middle of the Hudson River to watch the fireworks. I was surrounded by hundreds of boats in the middle of the river. I was very busy maintaining my station running from port to starboard steering stations. I saw the fireworks reflected in the glass of the world trade centers. I loved my job. I loved writing as well. And here was the tension. Write, which was very inconsistent money or captaining which was consistent. This tension is something that every sailor has to deal with unless of course you have plenty of money or you are retired with plenty of income. If you are young and in your prime working years, the tension between the alure of the sea and the grind of the paycheck cause problems. At his time in my life the job of captain was the grind. I didn’t want another day go by with out traveling. I made the decision that night that I wouldn’t be the supporting cast in someone else’s movie. After all I only have one life to live. Later that fall, I delivered a sailboat to the Caribbean only to return to America 26 years later in September 2001 a different man with a different outlook on life.

I was back working as a Captain and writing for Hollywood until I just wrote for films and television.

There is a time when a boat owner assesses his boat and his situation. A lot of factors go into this important decision time. As many of you know after listening to my podcasts I often delve into the meaning and symbolism of the sailing life. I like to draw lessons that I have learned for the listener to ponder and maybe act on, I also believe stories can open a many faceted portals to understanding life.

However the fact remains you need to earn income while traveling by yourself if you want to sustain that life. I chose to start a charting business. That decision was an inflection point that lasted for 26 years.

Here is how it started.

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