Sailing:
I grew up in San Diego and learned to sail at age seven on a nine-foot Sabot. At ten years-old, I completed a 5,000 mile cruise with my family on our sailboat, the Endless Summer, exploring Mexico. I learned navigation, boat handling, dinghy operation and how to stand watch. I felt the freedom and independence of traveling by sailboat to experience a different culture, while living simply and in harmony with the ocean.
After a lifetime of boating experiences at age 22, my dad entrusted me as captain of Endless Summer in Santa Barbara. I lived on the boat while finishing college at UCSB and captained the boat on numerous trips to the Channel Islands and up the coast to Hollister Ranch.
Upon graduation from UCSB, I set sail as paid crew on a 160-foot mega-yacht sailboat headed south from Santa Barbara. We parted ways in Acapulco, where I joined a fellow surfer on a 34-foot Cal and spent five months surfing and exploring the coasts of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Surfing:
My love of the ocean and natural athletic inclination led me to try surfing. I was fourteen when I first stood up in the whitewash. After that, it was all I wanted to do. I was determined to excel at the sport and eventually I competed for the UCSB surf team and in private surf contests quite successfully for four years. My 2001-2002 season culminated in a win at the NSSA Nationals, making me the 2002 College Womens National Champion.
More than competition, though, I was intrigued by surf travel. In the years since I began surfing I traveled to Australia, Barbados, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hawaii, Mexico, and Nicaragua to surf and experience these different cultures. Im fascinated by how other peoples of the world live. I love the freedom of travel and learning to surf different waves. These trips combined with my extensive boating experience inspired my dream to surf around the world by sailboat.
Thank you all for helping my dream become reality.......
Barry and Jean Schuyler,
Russell and Melissa Clark,
A-Frame Surf Shop, Sam and Rob Holcombe,
Aaron Ernst, ARSON Art,
Betsy Crowfoot,
Bill Tover, William Marko Tover Photography,
Chad LaBass, Freestyle Watches,
Coffin Family,
DaKine,
Dunk Pruett,
Ethan Stewart, Santa Barbara Independent,
Endless Summer Bar-Cafe,
Fred Gamble,
George Hawkins,
Hair Raiser Coffee Company,
Hal McCormack, Nor-Cal Compass Adjusting,
Iho Hose,
Jack Buttler Photography,
Jack Byers, Jack N Tool Box,
Jason Feist, J7 Surfboards,
Jaime Meyer, Lewis & Meyer Construction Inc.,
James Lambden, Above the Waterline,
Jeff Chamberlain,
Jim Cotton,
Julie McDonald Ross, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum,
Marty Spargur,
Mike Jansen and Sarge (Mike Jansen Jr.),
Patagonia,
Paul Gunther,
Quiksilver/Roxy, Danielle Beck,
Peter and Susan Scheer,
Richard Catlett and the Lara Crew,
Richard Spindler, Latitude 38 Magazine,
Simrad Marine Electronics, Richard Baker,
Sea Landing, Adam Waskewics and Crew,
Skip McCormack,
Skip Abott and Everyone at the Santa Barbara Sailing Center,
Surfing Magazine, Ross Garrett,
Tom Chaffee, Dux Boats,
Sharon Miller,
Wayne Kelly, Aladdin Boat Charters.
