Sailing for FREEDOM
Military Veteran High-Performance Sailing Team
Our Mission
Our military veteran outreach sailing program and support group seeks to serve soldiers, sailors, and adventurers who thrive in challenging environments, relish in the camaraderie of achievement, and flourish through their role on a winning team.
We champion sound military principles, using steadfast leadership and teamwork to advance our maritime skills, accomplish goals, and 'make mission' through the adventures of sailing and offshore blue-water racing.
Our veteran sailors benefit from each sailing experience, gaining an improved sense-of-self, added resilience, and personal confidence in knowing that they can navigate complex life challenges and succeed against incredible odds.
Our Story
Skipper Doug Pasnik is a retired Marine who has been advancing his sailing skills throughout his thirty-year career in the USMC. He was trained as an F/A-18 Hornet Naval Flight Officer and accrued 3000+ hours of flight time during demanding training missions across the globe and in combat.
He is a USCG 100-ton Master. He has owned the Andrews 70 “TRADER” since 2014 and has transited the boat throughout Asia and the Pacific.
Since 2016, he has cultivated a team of military veteran sailors during routine sailing sessions off Waikiki and throughout the Hawaiian Islands. His team completed the 50th TRANSPAC in 2019, receiving the Dillingham Trophy for 1st Hawaii Boat and the Pacific High Trophy.
Doug is active in his outreach efforts to link military veterans and adventurers with the challenges of offshore blue-water sailboat racing. He thrives in helping young leaders advance their skills through teamwork and through the adventures of sailing.
OurTeam
Our core crew is comprised of senior military and corporate professionals who are at the peak of their professional careers. Each has a unique and diverse background, representing all branches of the United States and Allied militaries and spanning the spectrum of air, land, and sea warfare. These mentors have experienced a variety of life challenges throughout their military service and have a wide variety of leadership lessons and stories to share. Our crew espouses each of our unique service’s core values and represents our team with the utmost professionalism.
We welcome any veteran or youth sailor who is physically able, mentally motivated, and willing to learn to become part of the team and to advance their maritime and leadership skills through the challenges of sailing.
Your Help
Our campaign is a self-funded military veteran outreach sailing program.
We relish the opportunity to share the sailing experience with veteran supporters and to partner with organizations that support the military veteran community. How can you support our veteran outreach efforts?