Tom has been involved both in boating and flying his entire life. He even goes so far as to call it the same sickness, just operating in different fluids; noting how many boaters are pilots and vice versa. Tom spent his formative years making an annual summer pilgrimage to the waters of coastal Maine for his family’s bare boat charter adventures. Sailing on a different boat in different waters every summer made an indelible impression and he enjoys boating there given any opportunity to do so.
Tom also grew up with a love of flying, which he inherited from his father, having spent hundreds of hours flying all over New England and even completing several cross-country trips in a small single engine Cessna. This passion also led to his first “real” job as a member of the New Hampshire Air National Guard as an avionics technician working on the KC-135. It was during this time that Tom decided to move to Maine full time to pursue a career in the boating industry.
Tom moved to Mount Desert Island and the fabled sailing grounds of Downeast Maine where he started as a lowly yard grunt and worked his way up into production, sea trialing, and charter operations. Working for companies such as Hinckley and Wesmac, he eventually got his first command on a Hinckley SW59 out of Northeast Harbor.
Eventually, Tom decided that to further his career and get into sales, he needed to move back down south. He took a position at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT where he worked primarily in their donated yacht program, and on occasion got to serve as crew on the Seaport’s steam power ferry the Sabino.
These days, Tom and his wife Emily live in Norwich, CT and get out on the water as often as possible. Tom often tells customers, “I don’t want to be just your boat salesman, I want to be your boat guy.” Noting that storytelling, sharing experiences, and sharing enthusiasm is often as important as being able to spout facts and figures. If you don’t love your boat and love the opportunities for adventure it provides for your family, then whats the point?