Sailing Stories

Sean Morgan started sailing young but it wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience. “My brother and I absolutely hated it,” he said. “My dad thought it was hilarious to go out on the boat and flip it over. So my brother and I thought we were going to die.” For decades, sailing was a sport Sean…

Tom Granese is no stranger to the Virgin Islands. His in-laws own a home in the USVI and he and wife own property there. However, for the many times they had spent admiring the sailboats passing them by, they had never actually learned to sail one.  “We have a great view from the property. We…

Marc Gottlieb’s introduction to sailing came about less from a family love of sailing but more so from one particular family member’s hatred of engines. “I grew up sailing with my dad who was a very smart guy, genius level scientist— but hated motors and had no mechanical abilities whatsoever,” Marc laughed. “So he got…

Sailing is a passion that runs in Zander Nelson’s blood.  “I’ve actually been sailing pretty much my whole life. My father was a sailor and his father was a sailor,” he said. “It’s been a family tradition.” At age four, he was already sailing with his dad on a Sunfish. By 12, he was racing…

Edi Stan had a sailboat. He’d had a sailboat for 15 years. However, until he got a push from his daughter, he’d never taken his vintage 1970s Aquarius 23 out on the water. It was a good conversation starter and a subject of daydreaming but not more than that,” Edi said. “[My daughter] said your…

Sailors have had some odd sightings over the years, from mermaids to the Loch Ness Monster. But what about eerie sightings from above? Mark and Tina McHenry were on their first bareboat charter with their daughter when they spotted mysterious lights in the night sky. “At first I thought it was a car dealership with…

Todd Ferderer grew up in the landlocked state of North Dakota without much thought about sailing.   “I was never really introduced to sailing of any sort,” he said. “But boating— yes!” However, when he moved to Los Angeles in 1997 “with a love of water and warm weather” he  did eventually find his introduction to…

High school brought Rocky and Dana together when they were young. However, sailing became a major factor in bringing them back together 44 years later.  “We went on a hike and he pointed down to Lake Pend Oreille Lake,” Dana said about their first time meeting up in Idaho after all those years.  “I have…

2023 was a year full of amazing sailing stories for Go Sail Virgin Islands! Take a look back at some of the best moments and take-aways of the sailing year in the Virgin Islands according to our students’ reviews on Google and Tripadvisor: The Beginning of Many New Sailing Stories  Go Sail Virgin Islands saw…

Not all sailing stories are individual experiences— many are intertwined with another person’s journey to becoming a sailor. That is certainly the case for Cynthia Forsch, Captain Genevieve’s mom.   “My first big sail was when Genevieve was working in Belize and she invited several family members [on a sailing trip],” Cynthia said. “We rented the…

If there is one thing you need to know about Frankie Olivieri to understand his sailing story– it’s that he isn’t the type of person to sit around and wait for things to happen. Frankie is a true go-getter. This quality of Frankie’s is evident from the very start of his sailing story. His decision…

Sara was already a seasoned traveler before she found sailing. However, sailing appealed to her as a novel way to explore more places around the world.  “In a catamaran, you can basically go anywhere there is water,” she said. “and that’s the majority of the earth!” She booked a catamaran trip with friends in the…

Matt had never spent much time thinking about sailing. In fact, it wasn’t until a coworker brought it up to him that the sport had ever crossed his mind. However, after his coworker mentioned it, he felt somehow compelled to give it a whirl. And a “whirl” it was.    “After a few hours of…

For some sailors, their lives contain chapters and chapters of Sailing Stories. Bill Reed’s Sailing Stories could easily fill an entire book. They include memories upon sailboats in Florida as a young child, sailboat racing stories on the lakes of Michigan, and informal teaching stories on Montana’s Flathead Lake. Bill’s most recent Sailing Story is…

Sailing Story: Dave Shafer Dave Shafer isn’t quite sure where his sailing story starts. On the one hand, you could say it started when he was a teenager living in Appalachia.    “I was on a very small lake on— I don’t even know if you want to call it a sailboat, it was a…

“Sailing Stories” are a fun way to memorialize your sailing experience forever. These professionally written articles are available for all Go Sail Virgin Islands to participate in and receive. Here’s more about what your sailing story will include, why you should consider signing up to do one, and how to contact us to create yours!     …

While some sailors have been comfortably climbing aboard sailboats since the time they could walk, many more find this wonderful sport much later in life.  That was certainly the case for Barry White. Barry found sailing when he was on the hunt for fun retirement activities. “I’ve been doing masonry for going on 30 years…

Sailing stories rarely involve just one person. There are usually multiple people along the way that influence a sailor’s journey, their sailing plans, and their sailing futures.   This is absolutely true for Captain Trevon and first mate Stephanie! While their sailing stories began separately, they are now strongly intertwined.   Stephanie grew up on…

Sailing Stories: JT Quinn   It’s common for many sailing stories to start in childhood— but that’s not when JT Quinn’s love of sailing was born.    “Most people say they grew up on the water,” he explained. “But I am a Colorado mountain boy so sailing wasn’t something I was around until college years.”…

Genevieve was born and raised in Montana and spent many summers on Flathead Lake. “When I was 16, the neighbor came by and asked me if I wanted to go sailing on his Hobbie cat. Before I knew it, we were flying across the top of the water without a sound. It was an overwhelming…