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author
James Keen
Circumnavigations of Sir Francis Charles Chichester and Joshua Slocum have always fascinated me. As a young adult, I followed the circumnavigation of 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham in his 22-foot sai...view moreCircumnavigations of Sir Francis Charles Chichester and Joshua Slocum have always fascinated me. As a young adult, I followed the circumnavigation of 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham in his 22-foot sailing sloop. His book, Dove, tells the story of finding maturity and a seafaring wife.
I restored and sailed a wooden 21-foot Lightning Class sailboat, owned small runabouts,
leased crewed and bareboat sailing yachts, and restored and sailed a classic 32-foot Vanguard
sailboat, Irish Mist. I have extensive experience sailing rivers and sounds of eastern N.C. However, an ocean sailing crossing had eluded me.
After college, I became a Certified Public Accountant, practiced with a large national firm,
and then ran my own CPA firm. I worked in a commercial construction firm, then owned and
operated a construction company in which I built several McDonalds and other fast food
restaurants. In the 1980s, I closed my construction company, obtained a Masters in Community College Education degree, and taught accounting, auditing, taxes, and computer subjects at a local community college. After 15 years of teaching, I took an early retirement and settled into a waterfront retirement community near Chocowinity, NC.
After crossing the Atlantic (Trinidad Express), I sailed Irish Mist on a 13-month, singlehanded circumnavigation of the eastern US, a trip known as America's Great Loop.view less