The Sailing Conways

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines.  Sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore… Dream… Discover…”  Mark Twain

This is the quote on the card of the Conway Family (Dad-Chris, Mom-Erica, Bryson, Riesling and Porter) from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey who came into the gallery and were just such a pleasure and inspiration to meet.  They are on day 16 of a year long sailing adventure aboard their 47′ sailboat s/v Patronus.   Check out www.conwaysailors.com to learn more about them and follow their adventure. 

Chris is an active father, a successful businessman, a talented woodworker, a wannabe meteorologist, and a lifelong sailor.  He enjoyed years of racing sailboats with his family, at Cornell University, and at premier levels of the racing world.  Highlights of his racing career include the Transatlantic Race (New York to England), Fastnet (England), and Cowes Week (England).  These days, he enjoys being a dad to Bryson, Riesling, and Porter.  He is excited about sharing his love of sailing, adventure, and the sea with his children.  In preparing for our trip, he has taken an intensive diesel engine repair and maintenance course, researched every possible piece of equipment from bow to stern, and has pored over the charts from Maine to Grenada.  Chris had to come to Gloucester, which he has a fascination with due to our fishing and maritime history, and he loves “Wicked Tuna”.

Erica is a stay-at-home mom who has always felt most at home when on the ocean.  She was boating by 11 weeks old and has never stopped.  As achild, she enjoyed powerboating with her family and lived on a boat for 6 years on Long Island, New York.  In college, she began racing sailboats and fell in love with the wind.  And Chris.  Chris and Erica met on the Cornell Sailing Team, racing dinghies together and traveling around the country.  They dreamed of getting married and having three children some day, during those early months of starry-eyed dating.  They graduated, got married, and continued to race until having children 10 years ago.  Erica can’t wait to watch her three children feel at home on a boat.  Most importantly, she can’t wait to show them that we can make our dreams come true.

E.J. Lefavour

www.khanstudiointernational.com