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Skipper

I am Phil Garrett. I was born on September 22, 1947 and grew up in Southern California. I have two younger sisters Janis and Pam.

  • I am politically liberally but personally and financially conservative.

  • I do not drink, smoke, or take drugs.

  • I am a vegetarian.

  • I am told I am relatively easy to get along with.

  • I am a neat freak when it comes to maintaining the boat.

Education

  • I attended high school in Covina California from 1961 to 1965.

  • I attended the University of California Riverside from 1965 to 1968.

  • I attended the University of California Irvine from 1972 to 1974 graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information and Computer Science. 

Career

  • I served in the United States Air Force from 1968 to 1972 as a computer programmer at Nellis AFB Las Vegas, Nevada.

  • I worked at Burroughs Computers in Mission Viejo, CA from 1974 until 1981.

  • I worked at Tandem Computers in Cupertino, CA from 1981 to 1994.

  • I worked at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington from 1994 to 2013.

  • I retired in April 2013 and cruised aboard my Valiant 42 sailboat to Southeast Alaska and Mexico.

  • I joined my friends Praveen Seshadri and Brian Sabino at their software startup company Appsheet in Redmond, WA in June 2014.

  • Google purchased our company in January 2020. I  worked at Google until retiring in August 2022.

Sailing Experience

  • I started sailing in high school when I bought a Sabot sailing dinghy.

  • While in college I bought a Finn racing dinghy.

  • I taught the Power Squadron boating class.

  • I raced one design, PHRF, and IOR sailboats extensively in Southern California. I served as navigator on a custom built IOR 40’ sailboat in Newport Beach California.

  • I lived aboard a 28’ Bristol Channel Cutter for seven years in San Francisco Bay and sailed it from San Francisco California to Manzanillo Mexico and back.

  • I helped a friend sail his Cabo Rico 38 from San Diego California to Zihuantanejo Mexico and back.

  • I helped deliver a Santa Cruz 70 from Santa Cruz California to La Paz Mexico.

  • From April 2013 to June 2014, I sailed Barlavento from Portland Oregon to Glacier Bay Alaska, down the West Coast to San Diego, throughout the Sea of Cortez and mainland Mexico. I single handed Barlavento from Mazatlán Mexico to San Diego California.

  • I have helped my friends move their boats up and down the West Coast between Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Southern California, and Mexico on several occasions.

  • I helped Peter and Kiki Adamson sail their Vision 444 catamaran "Lazy Lightning" from Annapolis Maryland to Bermuda in November 2022. Jayne Durden also crewed on the voyage. Jayne is a great sailor and a joy to be with. I learned a lot from her.

  • I have over 15,000 miles of offshore sailing experience.

Approach to Sailing

  • Crew and vessel safety comes first.

  • I consult the crew on all decisions. We discuss what we plan to do ahead of time to avoid confusion and conflict.

  • I avoid putting the boat or crew in needless danger by being cautious.

  • I sail when the weather is favorable and wait when it is not.

  • I buy the best gear, take good care of it, and store it where I can find it quickly.

My Health

In March of 2021 in was diagnosed with advanced localized prostate cancer. I immediately moved from Redmond Washington to Newport Beach California to be treated at UCLA, one of the top prostate cancer treatment centers in the country. During August and September 2021, I received radiation treatment at UCLA. I will complete my Lupron treatment in June 2023. Fortunately, the treatments seems to be working extremely well. I get checked every three months, and my last checkup showed no sign of prostate cancer. There are no guarantees with cancer, but with help from the experts at UCLA I am doing very well so far.

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