PROFILE
Growing up in New Orleans with Lake Pontchartrain practically in the backyard was a great time and unknown to me would influence my life to this day. We were a power boat family but by my early teens I had discovered sailing thanks to a neighbor’s invite to go for a sail on his Rhodes 19.
Learning of my interest in sailing, Dad called on an old friend to give me some lessons, his name was Buddy Friedrichs who had won many North American and World Cup championships in the Dragon class as well as gold medal along with his New Orleans crew in the 1968 Mexico Summer Olympics in the Dragon class. It was a great learning experience and solidified my love of sailing.
I spent years first crewing on various one-designs, mostly Soling and Star classes. As I got older there were many opportunities to crew on a number of local and Gulf Coast PHRF regattas as well as SORC. Eventually sailing had to take a backseat as I started my first business in my early twenties. By my mid-twenties, I was fortunate enough to purchase my first sailboat, a beautiful second-hand Borresn-built Dragon.
Years later and in my mid-thirties my sailing focus turned more to cruising so I purchased a secondhand Bristol 40. I didn’t know at the time, but it would turn out to be my last monohull. With my business sold I was ready for a new chapter in my life, so with the suggestion of an old yacht broker friend I sailed into Ft. Lauderdale to try my hand at yacht sales, the year was 1986.
My early brokerage years were spent brokering the popular bluewater designs built in the US and Taiwan. While the first boat I ever brokered was an old Prout Quasar, even though I had no interest at all in multihulls.
But that all changed in 1992 when I saw the original TPI built Lagoon 42 at the Miami Boat Show. So I moved to West Palm Beach to work for the dealer of Jeanneau/Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot, and Catana.
I saw my first Catana at the 1993 Paris Boat Show, it was hull #1 of the Catana 411 designed by Christophe Barreau. And it was also when I met Henri Wauquiez who became a great mentor to me and a dear friend for the remainder of his life. At last I found a multihull that not only offered comfort but a multihull that for the first time in a long time was fun to sail.
In 1996 I opened Navigator Yacht Sales in West Palm Beach and with Henri’s blessing I took over the sales and marketing of Catana. And while I represented other builders through the years, Catana was always my mainstay. I’ve owned a number of Catan models, two of which I crossed the Atlantic with, plus numerous US East coast and Caribbean passages.
The yacht industry has seen major changes since I’ve been in the business, none more so than the multihull market. A lot has changed since the 1990s when multihull dealers would spend all our time at boat shows convincing the public multihulls were safe. Today, multihulls continue to be the fastest growing segment in the sailing industry and now gaining significant momentum with power catamaran builders.
In 2015 I resigned from Catana when their focus turned to the development of the Bali range. It was a good move for Catana who are now on par with the other major production builders. I cherish the many Catana clients I had the good fortune to help make their dreams a reality through the years.
In 2024 I have done a bit of rebranding, Navigator Yacht Sales and now Navigator Yacht Group, a Blue Dog Inc company. I feel Navigator Yacht Group better identifies the various segments I am now focused on including new semi-custom builders, custom designs, boat builder consulting and development, and of course representing buyers and sellers of second hand boats.
I believe the journey is as important, if not more so than the destination. My sailing passion is as strong today as my first sail on that Rhodes 19. Perhaps I just move a little slower on the foredeck!