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February - March 2017

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As I was about to leave Liberty Landing Marina by car on January 4th,

something a little unusual peeked my interest. It was a beautiful Down

East sedan coming past the fairway in a light snow. I stopped to check it

out. As the boat got closer it executed a perfect landing. There was the

captain, comfy at the wheel in a light sweater vest, and his lovely mate.

She stepped onto the deck in winter garb, leaned over with the stern

line, and snagged the dock cleat with a single wave of her arm. She

then moved to the foredeck and did the same for the forward line… a

winter boating ballet.

I made my way back to the marine center to find out who these new

winter visitors were. I was fortunate enough to meet a great cruising

couple, Bob Meng and Martha Comfort.

After a short exchange I knew there was more to know. They were

kind enough to inviteme to coffee on board“SIMPLICITY”their beautiful

Back Cove 37 the following Saturday morning.

Another example of why we love boating, you get to meet really great

folks. If you want to talk about a boating power couple, these guys are it.

When I arrived in my snow boots and winter parker, left at the door,

Bob and Martha were cozy and warm on the settee with the temperature

perfectly maintained by the reverse cycle HVAC systems on board. We

began a wonderful Saturday morning of bagels, coffee and boat talk.

Martha is one of those people you meet and immediately think what

a lovely person, grace and poise, and quiet style that instantly puts you

at ease. That first impression might come from the kindness that beams

from her smile, maybe it’s her Quaker background, but you just know it’s

from the heart. What you can’t get immediately is the depth and breath

of her boating skill and experience.

Martha started her sailing life at twelve invited by her uncle to sail out

of Nantucket Harbor for a week aboard the schooner ”FLYING CLOUD”. As

part of the crew she was in charge of keeping all the oil lamps ship shape,

she was hooked. By 16 she had saved enough to buy a sunfish, the

fact that it arrived in a box didn’t slow her down a bit; she assembled

the boat, and headed out onto Long Island Sound.

After finishing a degree in biochemistry at McGill University, Martha

set out for a life at sea, starting as crew on a 44 foot charter yacht in St

Thomas and from there to Europe as a deckhand on a 60 foot French

charter vessel headed home. After a tour of Europe, the short story is,

back home to Connecticut, racing in St Thomas, a husband and sailing

the Pacific from California to Singapore where she spent eight years

raising two children and building a very successful boating business.

Martha eventually landed in the Pacific Northwest to start a new

chapter, which included a Master of Business Administration degree

from the University of Washington. She now spends her professional

life as Northwest Regional Manager and Lead Broker for Chuck

Hovey Yachts, member and past Chairperson of the Washington

Boating Alliance, and owner /President of the International Marine

Management Institute. Our powerhouse sailor is also a Board

Member and President Emeritus of the Freedom Project, a group that

runs volunteer programs inside WA state prisons.

A published author,” The Guide to Buying a Boat”, a trans Atlantic

and trans Pacific Sailor and live aboard, she still spends her free time

boating because she loves it so.

Bob, on the other hand, also a lifelong boater, starting at age 11

with a 14-foot runabout, has had to balance his interests in flying and

boating. Even though in his teens Bob took his parents from Seattle

up to Alaska in a 24 footer, flying won out professionally. After a 20-

year career as a commercial airline pilot, Bob decided on a career in the

marine industry in 1988. He started his own marine services companies,

ON-WATER TRAINING, and later, CONSOLIDATED MARINE SERVICES,

AND YACHT SEATTLE, eventually covering all aspects of yacht service,

management, and training. A US Coast Guard Merchant Marine Master,

an ABYC and NMEA Master Marine Electrician and Electronics Installer,

Marine Surveyor, Washington State Boating Standards Committee

Member and Aviation and Marine Expert Witness and consultant, he still

has an airplane, but we’re glad to have you back on the water. After 20

years as a pilot for American and United Airlines and another 30 in the

marine business, Bob decided to more or less retire.

About a year ago, relaxing aboard his 63 foot Ocean Alexander Pilot

House Motoryacht in Seattle, Bob decided to simplify. His solution

was naturally to buy another boat, you know that particular disease,

and a lot us have it. While active in his yacht management business he

was commissioned to deliver a Back Cove 37 for a client on the West

Coast. Bob was so impressed with quality of the build, the light and airy

pilothouse, the performance, as well as second stateroom in a 37 footer

that the Back Cove rose to the top of the list in his plan to “simplify”. A

new Back Cove 37 turned out to be the answer, and picking it up on the

East Coast would create an opportunity to spend time here and explore

new waters.

As fortune would have it, back in 2009 Martha engaged one of Bob’s

companies to aid in a boat delivery for her brokerage. Probably due

to one of Bob’s favorite stories about an invitation he received from an

insurance group to speak at their conference because they discovered

BOATING

PROFILE:

by Jeff Sublett

A Different Kind Of Snowbird

When curiosity got the

best of me, a new kind of

snowbird was revealed.