Gualala Arts Lecture Series presents:
Blue Water Cruising

with Steve May
Thursday, October 18, 2012, 7:00 p.m.
Admission is $5

There are many who dream of blue water sailing around the world but few act on their dreams. On Thursday, October 18, Steve May, one of the owners of Surf Market in Gualala, will recount what happened when he and his fiancée, Manjula Dean, set sail in Endless Summer, his 43-foot catamaran for four years of cruising.

To date they have logged nearly 20,000 nautical miles in Mexico, across the Pacific, in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. That is almost the circumference of Earth at the equator. May plans to recount not only the physical experiences but also the personal epiphany he has had concerning his personal love of the sea and the effects humans have had on its ecosystem.

He says, "I have seen first-hand the garbage floating in the deepest ocean that has washed up on every beach of every island and coral reef we have visited. Seeing the consequences of climate change, overfishing and pollution has alarmed me. I have returned from my voyages determined to get the word out that we have to change how we live or face dire consequences."

His odyssey began when he sailed under the Golden Gate in 2008 on the first of what has become an annual cruise. The couple cruised first to Mexico and then across the Pacific to islands throughout Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia. In 2011 Endless Summer arrived at over twenty-five islands in Papua New Guinea, two of which had never been visited by a private yacht. The entire experience can be followed on his blog - www.sailblogs.com/member/endlesssummer.

Twenty-six years ago May started working at the Surf Market in the Meat Department and eventually in 1998 he became the owner of the store. When two of his managers became business partners, he was able to leave his full-time responsibilities as owner/manager. Usually surf and sailing aren't compatible but it has worked well for May.

This talk promises to be an interesting and educational experience for anyone from the armchair sailor to the environmental skeptic. It begins at 7:00 p.m. A $5 admission will be collected at the door.

The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA,
is open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and weekends from noon to 4:00 p.m.
Please call (707) 884-1138 for more information, or email info@gualalaarts.org.

Serving the coastal communities of northern Sonoma & southern Mendocino Counties.