I've made an unlikely career of sailing across the world's oceans. As a deckhand aboard 30 oceangoing vessels, I've been able to see a side of life virtually unknown to the landlocked public. Sailing provided plenty of content to photograph, both at sea and on distant shores. As importantly, it provided me the means to do as I wished during my months of vacation time. I earned a BA in international studies from the University of Washington and a Masters Degree in journalism from the University of Florida. I interned at the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water and at the US State Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. I had quit the sailing life, but after three years of graduate school and two years of government work, I felt trapped. Office work depressed me. I craved a return to the sea, to the world of science and the community of seafarers. I've never looked back.