Casey, Don

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CASEY, Don

PERSONAL: Married; wife's name Olga. Education: Graduated from University of Texas. Hobbies and other interests: Sailing, boat repair.

ADDRESSES: Home—Miami, FL. Agent—c/o Author Mail, International Marine Publishing, P.O. Box 220, Camden, ME 04843.

CAREER: Writer. Banker until 1983.

WRITINGS:

(With Lew Hackler) Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1988.

This Old Boat, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1991.

Sailboat Refinishing, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1996.

Sailboat Hull and Deck Repair, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1996.

Canvaswork and Sail Repair, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1996.

Inspecting the Aging Sailboat, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1997.

One Hundred Fast and Easy Boat Improvements, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1998.

Dragged Aboard: A Cruising Guide for the Reluctant Mate, illustrated by Don Almquist, W. W. Norton (New York, NY), 1998.

Sailboat Electrics Simplified, International Marine Publishing (Camden, ME), 1999.

Contributor to Sail and to other boating magazines. Author of "Ask Don Casey" column for BoatUS.com and monthly column for SailNet.com.

SIDELIGHTS: Although Don Casey was not the only successful banker who dreamed of getting away from it all in a sailboat, unlike many others, Casey actually made the move. In 1983 he quit his job, headed south, and embarked with his wife on a new life of freedom and adventure cruising the tropics. Determined to help others share his love of boats and sailing, Casey has published nearly a dozen books, as well as numerous magazine and Internet articles, on all aspects of the subject in clear, user-friendly prose that resonates with neophytes and lifelong sailors alike.

Casey's first book, Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach, was a bestseller. "Its central premise," the author wrote on SailNet.com, "is that if you dream of going cruising, you almost certainly make an error if you postpone the pursuit of this dream while you earn the price of the 'perfect' boat." Casey reported that "over the years I have been approached by scores of sailors who tell me that reading Sensible Cruising enabled them to achieve their cruising dreams."

Another best seller, Casey's This Old Boat, is a long, fact-filled record of the renovation of a broken-down fiberglass sailboat with little money but lots of hard work and love. Meeting the needs of enthusiasts with a variety of technical books covering such topics as sails and sail repair, deck repair, refinishing, and electrical systems, Casey also addressed the needs of sailors' partners in Dragged Aboard: A Cruising Guide for the Reluctant Mate. In a review in the San Francisco Chronicle, Paul McHugh wrote that in Dragged Aboard "issues and solutions are defined, then defused with humor."