People often ask, what is your favorite island or port? Now there’s a tough one. As soon as I say “so and so was the best”; the next landfall becomes my new favorite. The rich fabric of the cruising life is not zoomed in, myopic. Cruising is all experiences; it’s the big picture.

I have worked with sailors that have completed various courses. Their knowledge of the basics, seem good, and sometimes there are exciting nuances. One gets the feeling though, of a regimented approach. Perhaps it’s a rush to complete a tutorial in a given time frame, get the material in.

The art of sailing presents many complex challenges. A simple answer to a problem often misses the effect on the overall landscape. Coaching and nudging away to help a sailor pull it all together, to see the big picture is truly a delight.

The key is obvious; we are all different. Tutorials are not individualized, yet we must conform to them. I teach without a rigid plan, I take you where I find you, than on to where we agree you should be. So that’s where we begin our relationship, by agreement.

Now the fun begins! You should not expect me to do the boat handling, sail setting, navigating etc., it’s hands on for you. You can expect me though, to be right there, every step of the way, quietly watching and explaining. I don’t raise my voice unless the wind pipes-up, or you step on my finger.

Turn about is fair play, send me to a hot engine room to go over and explain every system and watcha-ma call it down there.

So where are you now? Are you going to buy a cat to knock about with at the local yacht club, or are you going to live-aboard and take it island to island? It’s all the good life. I don’t know where you are now in your adventure, but my hope is to play a part in where you are going.

I was fortunate enough to meet Capt. Mark Pomerenke and soon after went on a weeklong sailing cruise with him to the Bahamas. That was my first real “blue water” experience. I couldn’t believe how much I learned that week from Capt. Mark. It changed the course of my life forever! How was I to know cruising would instantly become a passion? I just thought it would be “fun”. (Who would have guessed that I would eventually get my 100-ton USCG license)? I also was lucky enough to crew for him on several occasions while building my required hours at sea. I was able to learn about chartering from one of the best Captains in the business.

The thing that makes Mark so different from other Captains is his ingratiating personality and his complete confidence on the water (not to mention his great sense of humor).

He is a great “teacher” to learn from because of his endless patience. He does not lecture about anything either. Instead, he “shares” his knowledge in simple terms so “we” can understand. It was quite an experience to see him work, and be able to work with him. When you choose Mark as your Captain you get so much more than just sailing lessons. It is a complete package that opens a window to a remarkable way of life. You leave his boat wishing it would never end, but knowing you have made a friend. 

Hey Mark, I had fun doing this.

Kay Condon, Capt.

Prout Event 34

As beginners to Catamaran sailing and living aboard full time, we were looking for someone highly experienced in sailing Catamarans in good and bad weather. And someone to help us understand and trouble shoot on board systems. Mark Pomerenke was just the person for us! With over 14 years of sailing Catamarans and living on board himself, he’s seen and done it all personally.

Mark is flexible in his teaching process, patient with his students and has a breadth and depth of sailing experience. He is adaptable to different learning styles and different levels of skill and knowledge. His teaching goes beyond theory to pragmatic hands on approach. Mark prepares you for the whole sailing experience – not just the pleasant afternoon jaunt. Mark continues to be a source of advice and good judgment for us. We are very happy with our investment of training with Mark and highly recommend his talent.

Wes and Janice Moyer

Dances with Dolphins

40’ Norseman Catamaran

This time last year we left for Florida with you and I sure wish we were on our way again. I still have so much to learn about our 45’ Prout catamaran. In the week we spent with you, your instructions were thorough and easy to understand and most of all, fun. I will never forget the first night out, a crystal clear night navigating through Hell’s Gate under all the magnificent New York bridges and down the East River with the lights gleaming back at us, what a sight! Then the famed Statue of Liberty all lit up so proud. From there we went on to a day on the Delaware Bay, with its beautiful lighthouses. You let us navigate that by ourselves. We had so much fun taking pictures, navigating, working with the charts and checking our way points with the GPS (you were always so close at hand – you showed me how to do it and then let me). You are a good instructor and best of all you made us feel comfortable – we were one big happy family. When the day was done it was time for cocktails, dinner, movies and more of your time explaining how the electronics worked or a tale from another of your trips. Our trip continued up the C and D Canal on to Annapolis and a week anchored out for the boat show – fun, fun, fun. From there you safely took Felix, our cat, to Florida. My only regret is that I did not go with you from Annapolis. You have stayed a good friend, hope all is well with Straycat. To anyone who is reading this: “Go with Mark – you will have a wonderful experience.”

Craig Danna

Felix – Prout 45 Catamaran

USS Teckeltjie (temporary name)

Ship’s Log  

Friday, October 12, 2001

How appropriate. Today is the real Columbus day as Bill sets sail for the first time on Bill and Scott’s new boat, a Prout Esprit 3400, the demo boat at the 2001 Annapolis Boat Show. Captain Mark Pomerenke is the expert delivery crew who will patiently put up with Bill while he learns the new boat. Sadly, Scott and the real Teckeltjie had to stay behind as Scott’s two key managers were on vacation and he literally had to “mind the stores”. Or probably better said, to “mine the stores”, as in gold and not explosives, because we will need the gold to pay for our new catamaran. Scott and I both shed a tear as we waved to each other as the Teckeltjie motored away from Andrew Petit’s dock in Arnold, Maryland at about 10:30 am.

Captain Mark immediately started teaching Bill how to properly stow the dock lines. None of this “throw them in the anchor locker:, but instead he looped them over the stanchions saying that he has never lost any lines when they are done this way.

My second task was to get the waypoints into the GPS using a route from Maptech’s Chesapeake Bay chart books. (And this was where current log entries ended until Tuesday morning, October 16 because I was either too busy, too tired, and having too much fun with the new cat.)

Our first stop was in Deltaville where we need to get a light bulb for our port running lights so we could sail at night. The bulb we had bought at West Marine in Annapolis didn’t fit. After a cell phone call to West Marine in Deltaville, we discovered that they didn’t have the bulb, but they recommended that we try Walden Brother’s Marina. Surprise, surprise, they had it, so we pulled into their docks and a highly knowledgeable older woman, who managed the store, supplied us with the bulb and Captain Mark repaired the light. We motored around the harbor to find a restaurant and there was none. Some men on the pier at Norview Marina recommended that we go to Taylor’s Restaurant as they had a courtesy car. The Norview dock master set us up on the end of the pier gratis, the Taylor’s van arrived, and as we started to leave the young gal who was driving backed into one of Norview’s pick-up trucks. The Norview guy wasn’t bothered at all; the truck already had lots of dents! And I believe that we had only tapped it. Taylor’s décor was simple at best, but the food and service was great.

It was already dark as we cast off. We used the new searchlight to spot the channel markers. (The Teckeltjie virtually had no equipment on board, so before we left Captain Mark filled three shopping carts at Annapolis West Marine. It would have taken me a week to over analyze and agonize over what to I had to buy, and it took Captain only an hour, because he had done it so many times before. I had to take out a third mortgage on the Pocono Mountains home.) The port Volvo engine kept losing power, never completely shutting down, then surging back. Once again, thank God Captain Mark was aboard as I was at a loss. He started his analysis, which once again was another great training session. His first conclusion was that there was air in the fuel lines, but later the starboard engine starting acting similarly. Now there was a possibility that we had contaminated fuel or that there may be algae in the tanks and the filters or lines may be clogged. (I learned from Mark that algae apparently grow when fuel is allowed to stand a long time and the growth can be prevented with special biocide additives.) There was also the possibility that there was water in the fuel since the tanks had been empty for a while and condensation may have formed. (Keeping the tanks full will prevent condensation.) Since the engines kept coming back and we hoped to do a major maintenance in Norfolk, we pressed on. Unfortunately, after dark, the starboard engine failed. So we decided to anchor as soon as possible as it was dark and the bay was choppy. On the charts we found the nearest entrance to protected waters, which was Horn Harbor. The Visual Navigation Series Charting program on my Toshiba became very useful, as the channel was narrow and shallow. As soon as the water was calmer we anchored and called it a night, as it was about midnight. This was my first night approach and another great lesson, as I know the difficulty in spotting marks at night.

Saturday, November 17, 2001

Sadly, I didn’t have the time to complete the log enroute as I was either too busy, too tired, or afraid of trying to work on the computer underway as I was not feeling 100% and didn’t want to throw up! I only threw up once during the whole 11-day delivery!

Doing the delivery with Captain Mark was a great experience that I would recommend to every new boat owner. I learned a great deal from him enroute. And he made certain that the boat was delivered on a timely basis.

Mark would not allow us to stay at marinas, because he said that it was foolish to waste money. If we weren’t sailing at night, Mark showed me that you can anchor safely just about anywhere!

The chef mate was able to teach me about cooking underway and more importantly, what to expect from Mark, Like “Did he tell you that sea conditions look bad from here, but they will get better once we get out to sea!” And it was true. Despite the fact that we were in 10-12 foot seas and 120 miles offshore, I felt safe with Mark as Captain and also developed a strong faith in the seaworthiness of the Prout Esprit 34. Mark repeatedly commented on how much better the Prout Esprit 34 performed than his prior single engine Prouts.

I learned to navigate the inland waterway and what the courtesy rules are. And how to do night approaches. And how not to rely on the GPS and charts during those approaches as the channel markers often have been shifted. And I learned to sail offshore at night with an autopilot and to appreciate how much easier and faster it is than doing the inland waterway. Although I didn’t stand watches myself, I often stayed up with Capt. Mark having great conversations and doing some of the “every 10 minute” horizon scans. That is when I wasn’t overdosed on Dramamine and asleep on my bunk. Once I slept from about 5 in the afternoon to 9 the next morning and I usually am an early riser! I was surprised to find out how soothing it is to sleep on top of a diesel.

Best of all was that at the end of the trip Mark made up a warranty list of items that needed to be corrected on the new boat. The list carried a lot of validity since Mark is an experienced delivery Captain and Prout expert, and not a hysterical first time new boat owner! Mark commented that he was stunned at how few problems there were which was reassuring.

And Mark also helped me draw up my wish list of additions to the boat. Statements like “They are the best and are expensive, but you will never regret spending the money” were very important to me.

Because of my experience with Captain Mark, I know that I will have a much better boat and be a much better sailor. It was a great jump-start!

William R. Sykes

USS Cat-A-Tonic