I’m very pleased to announce that my good friends at Swiftsure Yachts are my first corporate sponsors. They see the value in what sailish.com is trying to do for the PNW sailing scene and have ponied up a monthly sponsorship. If truth be told, Brad Baker and Ryan Helling have already provided plenty of support in their writing contributions and tales of derring-do, from navigating the mighty catamaran Fujin to racing the Tri-Island cruiser-racer class.
The least I can do is tell you a little about them. They deal both in new boats (Allures, Garcia, Hallberg Rassy, Outbound, Outremer) and high quality brokerage boats. Brad has cruised the Pacific for two years with his family, Pete McGonagle has cruised his own boat in the Caribbean for two years and Ryan Helling lives aboard his own boat Velella which he both cruises and races. They are joined by PJ Baker, Bob Schoonmaker, Judy Nasmith, Andy Schwenk, John Sanford and Andy Cross in various spots around the Northwest. They’re all extraordinary sailors with real offshore miles under their keels, and I can say firsthand that I’ve learned a tremendous amount sailing some of those miles with them.
One important facet of these sailors is that they’re both excellent cruisers and top-flight racers.
I know the folks at Swiftsure to be focused on making the boat buying experience a really good one for each of their clients, both in the moment and (importantly) throughout subsequent years.
Their real offshore experience has helped launch many world cruises and more than a few race wins. Just click the Swiftsure Yachts logo if you ever want to get in touch.
And while this is not an ad per se, I gotta say they’ve got a seriously cool Farr 50 cruiser for sale. Check it out.
If your sailing-oriented company wants to sponsor sailish.com, please go to my Patreon page and sign up, or email me directly.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.