I've been sailing for about 5 years now. During the summers of 2002 and 2003 I was sailing around the islands of Croatia as a charter captain. It was incredibly nice sailing. Beautiful ancient villages built by the Venetian Republic in the 1500s. Back then I was renting a 43' Elan (sailboat) and everyone would put their money together to pay for the rental. It was so much fun that it took over my life.

In 2004 I sold my business and spent six months hunting for a boat. I bought the lovely Krasna in November and I've been sailing her ever since. She's coming along nicley, after sailing from Miami to Maine and back she's held up beautifully.

The 20 years prior to being a Captain I was a photojournalist. I covered a lot of wars and social upheavals for magazines like Time, Newsweek, Stern, the London papers, etc. But after my second child I started slowing down and started a small photo agency, Spectrum Pictures. After building it up it became a bit too routine for me so I was ready for something new when sailing came along. I've always been a bit of a drifter, but I did manage to stay in Prague, Czech Republic for the past 15 years. I was covering the transitions of Eastern Europe, Bosnia, Croatia, Russia, Reunification of Germany, Czech, Poland and Hungary's changes in the transition. Before that I was living in Chile during the Pinochet times, Peru during the Shining Path, Guatemala during the massacres of the Maya Indians. I tried over the years to make some changes in the way people see the world and their neighbors, but I felt I wasn't really doing anything in a positive way anymore. So instead of trying to save the world, it's time to enjoy it. I've been known to tell some stories on the boat too. I love a good story, good conversations, both good and bad singing (I sing in the bad category).

I'm 45 years old, have a wife and two children. I'm fairly liberal minded and easy going, but have always done well in stressful situations and seem to be up to the task when things do get rough. I never go looking for rough seas and will almost always go with the safest choices when it comes to the weather and sailing. I don't push the Captain thing. I try to let everyone decide where we're going each day, whether we do a lot of sailing or a little depends on the make up of the crew.