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Why "Sailing Vessel Semper Fi", (S/V Semper Fi), well as you most likely already know, I'm a retired Marine.
More importantly, "Semper Fi" is a slang for the Latin phrase "Always Faithful". If you intend on sailing a 38' sailboat
around the world, by yourself and non-stop, your boat had better be "Always Faithful". This is a trip of roughly
30,000 miles and 8 months in duration. I'll be spending nearly 3 months in the Great Southern Oceans, historically this
is home to some of the roughest sailing conditions know to sailors.
This is a significant undertaking. To fully appreciate the scope of this project, consider these comparisons.
- Mt. Everest was first climbed in 1953, since then 1,500 folks have stood on top of that mountain.
- In 1969 the first American stood on the Moon, since that event 12 Americans have stood on the Moon.
- In 1894-95 with many stops Capt. Joshua Slocum sailed his "Spray" around the world solo. In the 115 years since
that event only 12 Americans have completed a solo non-stop circumnavigation under sail.
Never in history, has a Marine made the solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world. Imagine for a moment, spending
8 months at sea, watching the glow of the wake at night, listning to the wind in the rigging, feeling the undulation of the
wave patterns beneath the keel. Then comes a bump in the night, was that a piece of floating debris or some mythical
sea monster preparing to pull your tiny vessel below the waves. Then you recall that shimmering ball of sea
creatures that you saw some miles back or... was that the eye of the beast that just bumped your boat. To find
out, you'll have to support my adventure and then follow Semper Fi's website.
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My name is Glen Porter and I'm a Baby Boomer Era (post World War II) Grandfather, with a couple of factory built knees
and a handicapped placard in my pickup truck. But, I've come to realize it is not yet time for me to be feeding the
birds in the park. After serving my country for nearly 24 years, I would truly appreciate your assistance on this project.
I retired in 1990 as a Marine Corps Major. While still an enlisted Marine, I served in Viet Nam and flew
some 350 combat missions as a helicopter door gunner. I also served a two year tour of duty as a Marine Corps Drill
Instructor. By training, I'm an air traffic controller, however I've also managed large general aviation and international
airports and owned my own business for many years, an aviation fuel service. I've been a pilot since the mid 1960's
and a flight instructor since the early 1970's.
I've always enjoyed building things when I had the time. To that end I've built several of my own experimental airplanes,
and about 30 years ago a 38 foot sail boat. Now that I'm retired, I'd like to build another one and sail it around the
world non-stop by myself.
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I'm not just asking for your sponsor ship. I'll work for it. For $25.00 (postage included in the lower 48
states) I'll send you a desk paperweight of an Ingrid sailboat, that I have cut, welded and powder coated. Colors are
assorted based on what I'm powder coating at the time. This is a hansome item that stands just at 12" tall.
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