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Windleblo - Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself



Hello.

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jack Hoopes, (a.k.a. Captain Jack) and I am Skipper of the Windleblo, a Hallberg-Rassy 40. I hail from Golden, Colorado, where I have made my home for 16 years. My wife, Jocelyn, and I have sailed Windleblo around Europe for the past five seasons, having taken delivery of her at the Hallberg-Rassy Yard in Ellos, Sweden, in 2009. We spend our winters in Golden where Jocelyn practices accounting and I work in the ski industry.  It is now time to sail Windleblo to the U.S.

Three characters will join me on the ARC.

First, son John.

At 23, John graduated Tufts University in 2010 and has become somewhat of a world traveler since. He works for Backroads, an active travel company based out of Berkeley, California, leading cycling, hiking, and kayaking trips in some of the world's most beautiful places. Always ready for adventure, aboard Windleblo John will serve as Chief Steward, Voyage Photographer, and Lead Fisherdude.

Next, Martin Neumayer.

Martin and I first met in 2008 aboard the Mahina Tiare III, as trainees in John Neal's bluewater sailing program. He and his American wife, Dawn, make their home in Vienna, Austria. Jocelyn calls Martin one of the most caring, considerate men she has ever met (probably in part to point out contrasts with her spouse), and I would have to agree Martin is certainly sophisticated, but more importantly solid as a rock when it comes to sailing. After Mahina, Martin went on to earn his Yachtmaster ticket and recently bought a Hallberg-Rassy of his own, Kind of Blue. His assigned roles aboard are as  Quartermaster, Tactician, and Assistant Steward.

Then there's John O'Riordon, a.k.a. The Coach.

Trapped for a week by back-to-back-to-back gales on Bere Island, around the Mizen Head deep in West Cork, the crew of the Windleblo had ample time to bond with the crew of the few other sailing vessels that shared the same plight. Among them was the boat belonging to John O'Riordon and his lovely wife, Moya. Since that fateful week late in the 2011 season, John and Moya have become good friends. John does construction contracting from his home outside Cork, but his real passion is sailing. A veteran of many crossings, John helped move Windleblo across the Biscay from Baltimore to La Coruna in 2012. He returned earlier this year to help me move the boat far and fast from Malta to Dubrovnik. So he knows the boat well and will serve as XO, Lead Trimmer, and Assistant Fisherdude.

Back home in Golden, Jocelyn will monitor our progress as Shoreside Coordinator. She and Dawn will come to St. Lucia in December to help celebrate our arrival in the New World.

As Chief Communications Officer, I'll attempt to share our ARC experience with you through these blog posts, with emphasis on shipboard life and crew relationships, raw and uncut, both intriguing and mundane. I invite you to return often.

It's great to make your acquaintance. 



 



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