Captain Bill

What a treat to sail for a few hours with Captain Bill—not only is he an expert sailor, he is a man living his dreams.

Captain Bill was born in Illinois and grew up on the south-side of Chicago. He is a Cubs fan.J He is 76 years young and sports a curly white beard. His resume includes working for Revlon as a marketing executive. But I was (we were) more interested in hearing his stories of circum-navigating the globe solo when he was 55 years young in just 22 months; or his adventures of the two years he spent captaining the Amistad. Captain Bill is a sailor at heart; it shows in his expertise; it shows in his words.

I didn’t know Captain Bill until he boarded the catamaran we chartered with our good friends, Larry and Kathy, Jim and Carol at the marina in Fajardo, Puerto Rico last month. It was his job to acquaint us with our home for the next week. For two hours he went over all the systems of our boat making sure we understood how they operated interspersed with stories of his sailing adventures. We were enthralled. He also freely offered much practical advice on where to sail on our vacation. We were very thankful. His confident aire, his love of sailing, and his heart to serve wowed and endeared him to us.

Before leaving us on our own and entrusting the 38’ catamaran to us, he sailed with us to the Palomino Island about five miles to the east putting us through all the paces of the boat and the sails. His parting words to us before boarding the chase boat that came to pick him up were Take good care of this boat. I’m taking my family out on it over New Years weekend.

I hope when I am 76 years young, it will be obvious to those around me that I’m living my dreams, the dreams God has planted in my heart and that those dreams are ministering to others as well.

“They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,”

Psalm 92:14