Adventure of a Lifetime

What’s it like to sail on the world’s fastest sailboat? What’s it like to spend two weeks with Steve Fossett in pursuit of a 10 year old world record? Join Chuck Hawley from West Marine as he describes his once-in-a-lifetime sailing voyage with Steve Fossett and the crew of PlayStation as they cross the Atlantic.

Presenter(s)

Chuck Hawley is a life-long sailor, having grown up on the California Coast. He has sailed approximately 40,000 miles on vessels ranging from ultra light "sleds" to single-handed sailboats to the maxi-catamaran PlayStation. Voyages of interest include two single-handed passages to Hawaii, three crewed Transpacific races, and a World Record attempt on the west to east Transatlantic record on PlayStation. While enjoying fast passages, he understands the importance of having functional, easily-repaired electrical, water, engine, and fuel systems so that each voyage can be completed successfully without outside help.

Chuck is a nationally known speaker on marine safety, and is one of five moderators of the US Sailing Safety at Sea Seminars for the last ten years. He has done extensive research into crew overboard recovery, life raft design, anchor design, and storm tactics, and has moderated seminars prior to the Newport-Bermuda, Transpac, and West Marine Pacific Cup Races.

Chuck has served as Commodore of the Single-handed Sailing Society in San Francisco (1980), the Santa Cruz Yacht Club (1992), and on the board of the Pacific Cup Yacht Club (2000). He also serves on the US Sailing Safety at Sea Committee and the American Boat and Yacht Council Technical Board.

Chuck has worked for West Marine for 20 years, and is responsible for the West Advisor articles that appear in West Marine's catalogs. He is also Vice President of Product Development. He lives in Santa Cruz, CA with his wife Susan and four daughters, and currently owns a Zodiac 20' RIB.