Cap’n Mike is a retired Navy officer who served 28 years on active duty, specializing in electronics systems. He’s been sailing since he was a teenager in Merritt Island, Florida. His experience includes serving as officer of the deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, as well as captaining the 1,500-passenger tour boat Star of Honolulu. After five monohulls, he made the move to two hulls aboard Air Bender—a considerably smaller vessel, with a crew that occasionally questions his orders.
Colleen is a retired Navy JAG who served 20 years on active duty. After retiring, she hung up her legal hat and went to nursing school, later working in oncology and surgery. When this blog began, Colleen described herself as an enthusiastic sailing passenger who wanted some adventures of her own. Since then, those adventures have included a 19-day passage from Hawaii to Alaska and a transit through the Panama Canal—along with plenty of time learning, exploring, and making a home aboard Air Bender. The enthusiasm and willingness to learn are still very much intact.
Together, Mike and Colleen divide their adventures between Air Bender and their Airstream, with Kevin along for the ride. Family, new places, and the people they meet along the way give them plenty of reasons to keep going—and plenty of stories to bring home.
