Currently at Monkey Bay Marina,  Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Hal calls San Antonio, Texas home, but the cruising waters of the Caribbean are now his home.

Hal retired from USAA, where he worked in Public Relations, and from the U.S. Army after 26 years of military service.  A 1967 graduate of Texas A&M University, he bleeds maroon!

 

 

::  COME SAILING WITH Griffin

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About Griffin and her Crew

In 2000, Hal moved aboard the first Griffin, a 34-foot Pacific Seacraft sailing sloop berthed in Port Aransas, Texas.  Work began to prepare for cruising in the Caribbean.  On April 1, 2002, Griffin set sail from Port Aransas, Texas bound for Isla Mujeres, Mexico, some 700 miles away. 

Aboard with him were Jeff Millard, Lynn Cortez, and Thane Gilliam.  This was his first real ocean sailing and he found it very exciting!  Jeff and Thane left Hal in Isla, and for the next year he sailed in the waters of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.  After spending the 2002 hurricane season in the Rio Dulce, Guatemala, Hal sailed back to Port A to buy the new Griffin, a 37-foot Pacific Seacraft sailing cutter (click here for a look the manufacturer’s info about this boat). 

On January 5, 2005, Hal again left Port A, headed for the same cruising waters.  Jim Polewchak & Lynn Cortez sailed with him to Isla Mujeres.  After more than four months in one of his favorite places in the world, he headed south to Belize and ultimately the Rio Dulce in Guatemala where he spent a safe hurricane season. 

After three successful crossings of the Gulf of Mexico Hal has decided not to press his luck.  Griffin is permanently in the Caribbean, and Hal's visits home will be by airplane, the best way to go to windward!  Hal will share his future adventures on this web site.  He will try to keep his photos up to date, but remember he has limited internet access for that.  His Cruising Logs will have the latest information.  Be sure to let him hear from you.  Hal feels he is  fortunate and blessed to be Living the Dream, and he wants to share it with you…

Where does the name Griffin come from?

The mythological creature represented by the logo you see on this site has the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle.  For many centuries it has been a symbol of vigilant strength.  Apollo rode one, as did Alexander the Great in his attempts to fly to the edge of the sky.  You may have seen representations as gargoyles and other creatures.  There are many spellings including Gryphon and others.  And among the spelling derivations is Griffith, the name of my dear friend and fellow Texas Aggie, Mike Griffith.  Mike watches over Griffin from above as she ventures onto the seas, and his family stands watch from the bookshelf in her cabin.