About Us

Onward and Forward

John was born and raised in Hingham MA. He worked as a deep-sea fisherman before becoming a "vagabond carpenter", wintering in St. John USVI in the winters and Martha's Vineyard in the summer. Recently he moved full-time to Vineyard Haven where he sails 'Little Dipper" his 17' Little America.

About everything he does:

"If you cannot do it right-

find someone who can"

Patty, John's sister and her husband Karl are John's primary support team.  Restoration of a century old wooden boat requires a village, and many have helped.

Peter Maddox, a boat yard owner who has done extensive work on Tradewinds in the past has provided invaluable assistance in getting Tradewinds out of the water and enabling it to travel north for restoration.

Little Dipper is John's 18' Herreshoff Little America. He sails it out of Vineyard Haven MA. He sailed in his first Catboat event in Cuttyhunk in the summer of 2021 and he reports it as both exhilarating and humbling. He looks forward to more events, as he moves toward Tradewinds joining the Southern MA catboat fleet.