Matt Brooks tells Grace Trofa of Boat International he doesn’t mind bi-coastal living. His 53ft Dorade makes all the traveling worthwhile.
“I learned how to sail as a child, and in graduate school I had a Quarter Ton boat that I raced in San Francisco, but I was an average sailor. When I met my wife, Pam, we needed an activity we could do together. Friends took us out sailing and we discovered we loved it.
“I contacted a broker friend and told him I wanted to buy a classic boat. Once we saw Dorade in Newport, there was no more looking around. The history of the boat, the love that went into her and the things she’s accomplished are very meaningful to us.
“When I came up with this crazy idea to repeat all her earlier races, they said I was nuts. We did the Bermuda Race, the Transatlantic Race, the Fastnet Race and the Transpac Race to Hawaii. We had the boat in Australia for 10 months getting ready for the Sydney Hobart Race, and 20,000 people waited for the boat in Hobart. She is almost 90 years old, mostly original, and still competitive.”