Get to know us

Alex is the name, and sailing is the game... apparently. Growing up deep in the central farm zone of Wisconsin, I wasn't really exposed to much sailing throughout my life. In fact, my only "sailing" experience prior to buying Tauha came at Boy Scout camp where I spent most of my time learning how to tip the boat back up after capsizing it. So, it's safe to say sailing had never been my dream. I always had a strong sense of adventure and independence though and was constantly on the lookout for the new opportunities.

During childhood my main adventure outlets were Boy Scouts and family trips, though I was constantly conducting mini adventures involving biking, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and the occasional attempt at snowboarding. Then college started and I was exposed to so many new opportunities for adventure through clubs, internships, and friends with cars. This opened up much of the United States to me including Southern Florida, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Canadian Boundary Waters, the Pacific Northwest, and fabulous West Lafayette Indiana (argue with me after trying Harry’s Chocolate Shop). These experience’s showed me how incredible different places in the world can be, and opened me up to moving to Colorado for graduate school, where I met Niccy.

I can still remember the first time learning about her plan to sail around the world. We had just started dating and were sitting in her living room, my mind wandering as she was trying to talk to me. “Blau… wasser… routen,” I said, reading off the title of the book I had just noticed on her cabinet. “What’s that?” “That’s a book of all of the routes you can take to sail around the world,” she responded. “Cool!” I said, not getting it. “Why do you have that?” “Because I plan to sail around the world,” she replied. “VERY cool!” I said… still not getting it. Niccy rolled her eyes. “Would that be something you could see yourself doing with me?” she asked. “Sure, that sounds fun!” I exclaimed, thinking pretty much only about how much fishing I would be able to do on the ocean, and not having the slightest clue what I had just signed up for.

Thankfully, I had signed up with the best skipper I could have asked for, and over the next few months Niccy brought me up to speed on the plan and what it would take. It took me a while, but I slowly bought in to it all and realized I was about to take part in an adventure crazier than I ever could have dreamed of.

I started sailing when I was 4 years old. Why? You might think it was because I instantly fell in love with the wind and the waves - but honestly, it was simply because there was a sailing club right across the street. I had so much fun on the water that I later joined a sports school to continue competitive sailing. Around that time, a little dream started to grow: I wanted to sail around the world. What probably sounded like a joke coming from a small kid slowly grew into a real goal. A lot has happened since then, but that dream never let me go. And now, here I am - with the best sailing partner I could have ever asked for - and our boat Tauha waiting for adventure.

But who am I? I’m Niccy! I grew up in Berlin, Germany, in a wonderful house by the lake, surrounded by a great family. My parents made me fall in love with sports and travel from an early age by giving me the chance to learn sailing, kite-surfing, and snowboarding. I raced Optimist, Laser, and 470er all the way through school. When the time came to choose between chasing the Olympic dream in sailing or pursuing a career in aerospace, I decided to follow my love for engineering. Letting go of competitive sailing wasn’t easy, so to clear my head, I picked up skydiving - something I had wanted to try for a while but didn't had the time for while I was fully focused on sailing.

Later, during my bachelor’s, I joined a student car racing team and also worked at a large space company, which meant I had to pause skydiving too. My studies finally brought me to the U.S., into the mountains, where I started my PhD in Aerospace Engineering/ Space Science as well as got into climbing and hiking. And that’s where I met Alex - and suddenly, the dream I had carried with me for over a decade started to feel like it could really become reality.

Tauha, our beautiful boat, is a Kelly Peterson 44 built in 1980. We're her third owners, and we absolutely adore her. She's a stunning vessel - solid, stable, and full of character. We especially love her elegant design, with that classic center cockpit that feels just right.

She’s spent many years in the warm, salty air of Tahiti, and while her direct previous owners didn’t sail her much, they took care of the things that absolutely needed doing, enough to keep her afloat for short trips and comfortable for life at anchor. But beyond that, many systems were just patched up or left untouched. There's now a lot that needs proper rebuilding, from electrical and navigation systems to dried-out seals and aging hardware.

Luckily, this is exactly the kind of work we enjoy. And we truly believe we can bring her back to her full glory, step by step, with love and elbow grease.