Sailing Around the World: A Martin, TN Adventurer Begins His Voyage

My husband is going to miss Doug Sterrett this year.   A close friend, Doug has taught Tim both how to compete on the racquetball court and how to stay afloat in a sailboat.   Waving goodbye will be tough as Doug and the crew of Aliikai launch their 18-month voyage around the world.

Doug, Peter Willems and Bryan Boggs, will jump aboard Doug’s 37-foot Tartan, Aliikai, this week and sail out of Grand Rivers, KY for:  North Florida, Central America, The Marquesas, The Galapagos Islands, Australia, South Africa, many additional stops along the way and miles and miles of oceans.  Doug has been dreaming of this voyage and planning for it for over nine years.  He will take a leave of absence from his career as Dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Martin to make it come true.

Years ago, when Doug, 55, talked about circumnavigating, 2009 seemed far away. He spoke of his plans to seek out, purchase and prepare the right boat and assemble the right crew.  He talked about gaining further sailing experience by crewing on several blue water crossings, including an Atlantic crossing from the east coast of the U.S. to Spain.  Then, over the years, he ticked off these to-do's on his list. Preparing for the voyage has taken hours of work, both on and off the boat. “The last year it feels like it has been every waking moment,” said Doug. 

 When asked about a trip itinerary, Doug is reticent. “This is circumnavigation vs. destination,” he politely murmurs, “because we will have to wait for weather windows and let the ocean truly decide our timing.”   Doug said he built a spreadsheet mapping out the entire course designed to mirror any changes and reset arrival times.  He did this work during baby Nicholas' trachea surgery in fall of 2006.  Nicholas had been medically paralyzed to allow the trachea to heal.  Doug said he would sit with his laptop and massage his baby’s toe every five minutes or so while he researched and entered in the 25 to 30 ports of call on their voyage. “Our goal is to be at the right place at the right time of the year.”  Translation: Keep the boat and crew away from threatening weather if possible.  He speaks about one exciting Atlantic crossing. The boat he was crewing on was hit by five gales and a major three-day storm.  Not only was the boat knocked down twice in 30 to 50-foot seas, but the engine stopped working, "Knockdown," Sailing Magazine. The crew and boat then limped into Gibraltar only to meet, a day later, a young European couple, fresh and rested, who said they avoided the bad weather by tracking the storm, hoving to and waiting it out before sailing to shore. “I learned a valuable lesson that day. My boat will have the electronics to monitor and track weather events, he said.”

Are you ready? “We are never ready because there is always more to do. Thank goodness we (the crew) are all engineers and very meticulous. We will be working all the way down the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to Mobile in order to be ready when we reach the Gulf. We are now completing the installation of our watermaker and some necessary electronics.”

Tell us about the crew’s responsibilities: “All of us will be responsible for our watch and will share daily duties on the boat.   I am responsible for the bottom line—the safety and navigation of ship and well-being of the crew. I think I continually vacillate between Captain Ron and Captain Bligh,” Doug joked. "Peter Willems (pictured far right) is from Columbia, TN and is the ship’s carpenter. He can out woodwork even me, “ Doug said.  “Peter is a mechanical engineer from Tennessee Tech and is amazing at what he can build. Bryan Boggs, (pictured in middle) a recent UTM engineering graduate and also from Columbia, TN, will serve as the ship’s provisioning master.  Bryan has also been diligently connecting ahead of time with every ambassador of every country we are visiting to ensure an easy transition in and out of ports. Both Peter and Bryan have signed on for the entire trip. They are also leaving family and friends for a long time.”

What has influenced your decisions on sailing and how did you get here? “I read the book, Tinkerbell, by Robert Manry, when I was 15. He crossed the Atlantic in the 60’s in a tiny thirteen-foot boat. I was hooked and decided I wanted to circumnavigate the world then. I decided to really do it in 2001.  I think Hal Roth’s book,  How to Sail Around the World, has been influential because I am basing this voyage on the same concept of his of keeping it “simple.” The two things different about this voyage from Roth’s voyage is that I have a watermaker and refrigeration.”

8:50 PM - Jan. 9, 2009 - comments {4} - post comment
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