A story about broken things and the journey to prove they still sail
A pirate. A rescue dog. A hurricane-wrecked catamaran. None of them were supposed to make it. Now they're sailing around the world together.
Mike has Ankylosing Spondylitis. At 15, his hip collapsed. By 29, he couldn't walk—102 pounds, on a cane, told he'd never recover. Five years later, he was rebuilding a million-dollar catamaran everyone said was done for. Now he's preparing to sail her around the world—to show people they don't have to stop living.
Abandoned at the vet with cancer. They were going to put her down. Mike saw a fighter and brought her home to the boat. Today, Dilly is cancer-free, living with a captain who knows exactly what it means to refuse to quit.
A million-dollar catamaran tossed by a hurricane, abandoned in the shipyard. 26-foot hole in the hull. Engines ejected. Mast wrapped around the frame. Everyone who looked at her said: unrepairable. Mike bought her for $7,000 and promised her the ocean. Four months later, she was floating.
The boat is a performance catamaran that sails at 20 knots
The Journey: First, Make Her Seaworthy
Right now, Pirate Boat floats. She's a home. But she's not ready for open ocean. Not yet.
The goal is to get her there. To take this hurricane-wrecked catamaran that everyone wrote off and prove she can handle blue water.
Seaworthiness Meter
Critical Systems Status:
See Where She Takes Us
The dream? Sail her around the world. Take a broken boat, a broken dog, and a broken captain and just... go. Raise hell and awareness for Ankylosing Spondylitis along the way.
Join the crew.
We're raising hell - and awareness for Ankylosing Spondylitis
You'll get real updates from the captain. No fluff, no spam.