Born and raised in the Seattle area,
Eric grew up on and around
the water in the Pacific Northwest. His dad built the first Sula - a 42'
Spencer Ketch - in their backyard when he was a wee lad and the family spent
weekends and summers after that cruising and gunkholing in the islands and
sounds of Washington state and British Columbia. Later as a young teen,
Eric spent his Summers crewing for his father's skippered charter business in
the San Juan, Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound.
Unable to afford an apartment in graduate school, Eric bought his first keel
boat of his own as an alternative (a 1984 Newport 28' - "Deja Vu") and lived
aboard in Santa Barbara for 2 years while earning a master's degree in computer
science and cruising the channel islands of California.
He and Melissa were married and moved back home to the Seattle area in 1989
where they cruised Deja Vu for several years as time allowed before finally
selling her as jobs and kids took center stage. Getting his sailing fix as
an avid J-24 and PHRF racer (on other people's boats) for the last decade in
addition to the occasional family charter in British Columbia and the Caribbean,
Eric finally convinced Melissa to take the plunge back into boat ownership in
1999, when they took delivery of their own "Sula".
Photo taken in the Southern Pacific Ocean.
Born in 1995 in Bellevue, WA,
RJ never does anything half way. He
loves getting out on the water and the adventure each new beach presents.
An aspiring sailor, he often takes the helm of our 53' boat and is already
becoming an accomplished cruiser. He first soloed in the dingy in 2002
and now routinely explores anchorages or ferries passengers aboard by himself.
Photo taken in 2002 at Brady beach in Barkley Sound, near Bamfield,
Vancouver Island, Canada.
