A Long Time Coming for Mark and ‘Keeldragger’
The dream began decades ago on inland waters, sailing with my father. That spark ignited a lifelong passion that evolved from my first modest Catalina 22 to my current vessel — a well-equipped 1989 Texas-built Valiant 40 named Keeldragger. Through six boats and many years, the vision of crossing the Pacific never faded.
After 20 years balancing career and family, I found myself at a crossroads — empty nest, supportive wife Debbie, and financial means to make the leap. In 2020, I turned in my resignation at my big tech job and prepared to depart for Mexico, with sights ultimately set on Hawaii. Then disaster struck: My transmission failed. And with parts hard to find for my old Volvo Penta engine, I decided to do a complete repower. By that time, pandemic supply-chain issues meant waiting nearly a year for a replacement engine and trans. Reluctantly, I returned to work.
Four years later, with colleagues joking, “I’ll see you in a couple of months when you change your mind,” I retired again, this time for real. The question remained: where to go after Mexico — Hawaii or French Polynesia?
One of my biggest challenges was navigating this journey with Debbie. Though she loves sailing in moderate conditions, seasickness meant she wouldn’t join me for offshore passages. She would continue working and fly to meet me at various destinations. This effectively meant planning a solo adventure.
After poring over Jimmy Cornell’s World Cruising Routes and considering options that would balance adventure with a reasonable time frame, I initially settled on Mexico to Hawaii, and back to Southern California. That’s when Debbie challenged me: “Why aren’t you sailing to the South Pacific like you’ve always dreamed? What if this is your one and only shot?”
When I explained the challenges — covering over 10,000 miles in a single season with tight schedules — she finally said, “I don’t think you have the balls to sail to Mexico, French Polynesia, Hawaii, and back!”
That was all the motivation I needed to make the Pacific Puddle Jump!
