About Us

Ty and Suzanne are both licensed USCG Captains who have more than sixty-five years of combined sailing experience between them (How scary!).

With 26 years as a Navy ship driver, Ty is more at home at sea than on

land.  A retired Captain and Destroyerman, Ty commanded the destroyer USS JOHN RODGERS (DD 983) as well as the U.S. base in Sasebo, Japan. His early sea duty assignments include Navigator/Operations officer on the destroyer USS ARNOLD J ISBELL (DD 869), Operations Officer aboard the frigate USS KOELSCH (FF 1049), and Chief Engineer aboard the amphibious landing ship USS PEORIA (LST 1183). He taught Seamanship and Navigation at the US Naval Academy, where he also served as Executive Assistant to the Director of Professional Development. Following a year as a student at the Naval War College, Ty reported to the frigate USS WHIPPLE (FF 1062) as Executive Officer.  He spent a memorable two years in Portsmouth, England on exchange with the Royal Navy, where he worked on the Seawolf missile program. Upon his return, and prior to reporting to the Navy Staff at the Pentagon, he had the honor of serving aboard the battleship USS IOWA (BB 61) as Operations Officer.  After his retirement from the Navy he worked as a Defense Analyst, specializing in missile defense.  .
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Suzanne retired from the Navy as a Commander after completing 20 years as a 

Fleet Support Officer. She had a variety of assignments, including Command Center Division Officer at the Atlantic Fleet Headquarters and Leadership & Management Instructor in Norfolk, Virginia.  She was a Politico-Military Affairs specialist at the US Southern Command Headquarters in Panama where she took part in Operation Just Cause.  She served as an Intelligence Analyst at the Navy’s Maritime Intelligence Center and as an Administrative Department Head during a memorable two-year assignment in Japan. She was chosen to serve as Protocol Officer for the Chief of Naval Operations, then transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy, where she taught Political Science and was Deputy Director of Humanities.  She had the honor of serving as Commanding Officer of Transient Personnel Unit Puget Sound where she and Ty enjoyed sailing the pristine waters of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Her final assignment was at the

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Suzanne was a Cruising World Boat of the Year judge for 2006. Read about it here. 

Pentagon where she served as the Joint Staff Deputy Inspector General after completing an exciting year as Aide-de-Camp to the nation’s top military officer, General Henry H. Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This exciting assignment included travel to the Balkans, Great Britain, Brussels, Greece, the Middle East, Korea, South America and India, as well as the career highlight of flying on Air Force One with President George W. Bush. Suzanne enjoys writing, painting, playing the flute, and speaking. She is the author of “Conquer Your Cravings,”   “Living a Dream,” ”It’s Your Boat Too,” and numerous magazine articles.

When not sailing, Ty and Suzanne are avid runners, sea kayakers, and back packers.

A Cruising Milestone
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We’re proud that we have been awarded the title of “Commodores” with the Seven Seas Cruising Association. This is a great organization of kindred spirits who share our unique cruising lifestyle. Members help each other out with information, assistance, friendship, and camaraderie. To become Commodores, you must have been a member and lived aboard your boat for at least a year, and met their distance requirement (in our case, a 2000 mile coastal passage). Until now, we’ve flown the association’s familiar blue

“Associates” burgee from our flag halyard. Today we’re proudly flying the red Commodore’s burgee which you see in the photo, top left. Please visit SSCA’s site for more information -- it’s a great way to meet other cruisers.