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I have been boating all my life! Isn't that what everyone says? But I can remember when I was 6 years old falling overboard with my father, brother, and uncle after our dinghy capsized while rowing back to shore from the mooring. That was more than a half century ago (1953)! At the time my family had a 24' Chris Craft. In the early 60s, I grew up on a 36' and a 37' Egg Harbor. I was married in 1969, and the first boat that we bought was a 1967 double plank mahogany hull 26' Cruz Along with a single 283 Chevy V-8 inboard. Ever hear of a Cruz Along? It really was a great wooden boat! After that we owned a 1978 10' Avon inflatable with a 7 1/2 HP Mercury outboard engine, a 1980 28' Wellcraft Suncruiser with twin inboard Mercruisers, a 1982 36' Egg Harbor with twin Crusaders, a 1986 46' Bertram with 892 Detroit Diesels that I watched the Miami factory build, a 1986 10' Zodiac inflatable, a 1987 Bayliner Trophy Center Console with a Force 125HP outboard, and a custom built 1989 22' Boston Whaler Outrage with a 225HP Johnson outboard. Today we own a 1990 34' Wellcraft Gran Sport, a 1991 8.5' Avon rollup inflatable with a 4 HP Mercury, and a 1996 20' Stingray with a V6 I/O. The Wellcraft Gran Sport has been a wonderful, dependable boat with hundreds of cruising hours on it.
My wife (who is a great navigator), our son, and I have cruised the East Coast many times from Maine to Florida, on the "outside" in the ocean and on the intracoastal waterway. Many times we planned the trips to Florida around school vacations (Columbus Day and Thanksgiving), so that my son Brad (today he is the radio show's engineer) could accompany us. We have done the trip from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale in 6 days, and we have done it in 26 days. The twenty-six day trip was the best! When you do it in 6 days, it is too much like work! We lived on the Bertram in Florida for 5 winters, and stayed one winter on the boat in Virginia. We have also done extensive cruising throughout New England. My favorite destinations are still Boston harbor and Cape Cod.
In 1992, I was Commodore of Metropolitan Yacht Club in Braintree, Massachusetts, where I have been a member since 1980. I am a LIFETIME TRUSTEE and LIFE MEMBER of that Club.
I am also a LIFE MEMBER of the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association - the oldest saltwater fishing club in New England.
I am my yacht club's representative to the Fore River Watershed Association.
I am also a member of the following organizations:
Mass Marine Trades Association
Quincy Bay Race Week Association
New Inlet Boaters Association
Commodores' Club of America
Massachusetts Boating and Yacht Club Association
Mass Marine Trades Association
Hull Lifesaving Museum
Boat Writers International
Boat/US
I was an active member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and a Flotilla Staff Officer from 1981 - 1985. Today my status in the Auxiliary is "retired" after 25 years of service.
I served a four year term (1996 - 2000) as a member on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council, representing recreational boaters and fishermen. I have also served on the sanctuary's outreach and media working group.
I also attend many of NOAA's New England Fisheries Management Council meetings, the state's Division of Marine Fisheries hearings, many Coast Guard ceremonies and functions, the Boston Harbor Islands National Park advisory council meetings, and boat shows.
I have hosted different music and news programs on several different radio stations over the years, including my popular Nautical Talk Radio, which has been on 95.9FM WATD for 17 consecutive years. The live broadcast of that show is also simulcast on the world wide web at www.959watd.com and re-broadcast at www.nauticaltalk.com.
Some of the many featured guests on the Nautical Talk Radio:
Sebastian Junger
Linda Greenlaw
Eric Goetz
Billy Joel
Jonathan Edwards
Florence Henderson
Irwin Jacobs
Ralph Leek
Katryn Theodoli
Mike Fiori
Reggie Fountain
Bruce Kessler
Jacques Cousteau
Barry Clifford
John Greviskas
Mitt Romney
Barney Frank
Deval Patrick
Don Kent
Nautical Talk Radio has received national recognition and has won numerous broadcasting awards including Boston radio's BEST INTERVIEW OF THE YEAR award sponsored by Ford Motor Company and the March of Dimes. The program has been nominated twice for the BEST PUBLIC AFFAIRS radio broadcast in the Boston radio market. I have also received the Len Hadley Lighthouse Preservation Award presented by the American Lighthouse Association. Most recently, in 2003, the Associated Press awarded Nautical Talk Radio first place for the Best Talk Show in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and at the end of the 2003 summer, Commanding Officer Pat Higgins of Station Point Allerton Coast Guard presented me with the Joshua James Lifesaving Coin.
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