For the past 27 years, I've been directly involved in every aspect of the administrative management of offshore yachts. As Director of Sailing at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, I oversaw a fleet of over 300 sailing vessels while training over 2,000 midshipmen annually. This with a budget of only $1.2 million.

As Commodore of the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron, my teams won multiple national intercollegiate championships. Additionally, I was personally responsible for the purchase and commissioning of twelve McCurdy and Rhodes 44-foot sail training yachts. I am well known at the finest shipyards, yacht yards and by the best boat builders.

My record as a sailor is equally noteworthy. I began racing Lightnings and Flying Dutchmen in northern Chesapeake Bay over 40 years ago. A veteran of four transatlantic crossings, I was navigator aboard the 56-foot sloop Alliance for the Fastnet Race, during the infamous storm of 1979. Alliance finished safely and in the silver. Earlier that same year, I navigated to a First-in-Fleet win in the CCA Transatlantic Race.

In 1992, I won the prize every skipper dreams about: the St. David's Lighthouse Trophy for First-in-Fleet in the Newport to Bermuda Race. I did this with a crew of ten midshipmen - eight of whom had never been on a boat before learning to sail in my program - on Constellation, a 20-year-old Swan '48.

All of these achievements indicate an individual with steely determination, tireless energy and a will to win. All are qualities essential to the care and management of your valuable investment.