THE TEAM
DEE
Co-Owner, Photographer/Video/Blog, Physician
Dee didn't grow up sailing, but she did grow up on the water. When the muddy Midwest Mississippi no longer held great charm, she and her family moved to the Tampa area. There, the lure of the salt water and warm air led to sailing starting in the mid 80's. When she got busy raising her daughter, attending college then medical school and residency, she took a couple of decades off. After retiring from the full time practice of medicine in 2016, she and husband Bob found themselves wanting to spend more time traveling. So they did! They traveled the globe. Dee loves photography, thus landscapes, seascapes & astrophotography became a part of life. Then the pandemic hit and everyone had to re-think travel. In the meantime, Dee was lucky enough to find a pristine 33' Hunter sailboat. She and Bob dug into lessons and practice.
Bob didn't have much boating-experience, and had zero desire to captain, so she had to step up and learn the ropes. What great fun they had, out there on the Gulf of Mexico with all that wind and freedom. But Bob wanted a bigger boat. Something to share with family and friends. And the dream of Sol Searcher began. After a few starts and stops, they were incredibly lucky to find a new breed of boat: the long distance power catamaran, their Iliad-62. It melds the efficiency of the catamaran shape with the offshore capability of a power cruiser. However, on a big offshore venture, they knew they would need more hands on board. So they invited their experienced sailing friends to travel with them (and keep them safe!)
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Dee says "Let me grab my camera and drone; it's time to hit the Big Blue and get going! Come along as we journey the world."
BOB
Co-Owner, Boat Candy, CFO and Voice of Reason
Bob is new-ish to boating but is a long time water-loving creature. He was a competitive swimmer as a kid in New Jersey and has adapted to boat life exceedingly well. He spent 10 years as an Air Force officer and is an Engineer by trade. After retiring from his business, where he was CFO, he was deeply affected by a Travel-Bug and has done his best to explore the world. He also does his best to keep Dee out of trouble; in between episodes, he keeps busy reading science fiction, watching the world scene and balancing the budget. Dee thinks he is part wizard given his ability to always make things go right. He says it's all a matter of training and drama management or better yet, avoidance. Bob also picked up the saxophone at age 50, which is a pretty doggone rare thing for someone to do. His goal before finding Sol Searcher was to spend a lot of time jamming with a bunch of old Jazz dudes in some local pub. Bob and Dee split their time between their home and family in Florida and their boat in the Southern Hemisphere. Bob is a family man first and foremost and dreams of having all their children and grandchildren aboard Sol Searcher. In the meantime, he condones website and video frivolity as a way of keeping in touch on while traveling.
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ART
Captain, Chief Engineer and Dive Master
<---This isn't really a photo of Art, however it is an Artful photo.
That is the Real Art in the photo below...
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Art has been in boating for many years. Originally hailing from Wisconsin, he has lived most of his life in Florida. He and Dee have known one another through sailing since sometime in the early 90's. Art is a very experienced sea captain, dive master/instructor and competitive sailor. He has raced for many years at Davis Island Yacht Club where he's been a member for as long as anyone can remember. He and Cindy have won boat of the year and have many accolades from their time there. Recently, Art had sold his auto shop in Tampa where he was an exotic car-repair icon for decades. He and Cindy had left land life and were living aboard their sail boat when they were rudely interrupted by Dee and Bob who needed them to come help with a crazy scheme to travel the world on a boat.
CINDY
First Mate (and SO much more)
Cindy is a woman of many and seemingly unending talents. She ran her own embroidery business in Tampa, she is a trained pastry chef, and she is a master sailor. She does so much on board that Dee thinks there is possibly a clone of her hiding somewhere. Always cheerful and thoughtful, she has quickly become the heart of Sol Searcher. She makes guests feel welcome, she is an ace voyage planner and tour guide as well. As Sol Searcher's Chef, her meals are legendary and beautiful. Always willing to learn new things, she has started helping with photo and video projects. At other times, she can be found with a chamois doing the work of deck crew. She is proficient at being the First Mate, and she also is a whirlwind of cleaning and organizing. She has a good eye for hospitality and aesthetics aboard so also functions as chief stew. Cindy and Art are grandparents and their kids still live in the Tampa area. No matter what she is doing, and trust me, she's always doing something, you will want Cindy on your team.
