The sailor is Robert S. Douglas. Son of an advisor to presidents, he
might have joined the family business. He might have become a rancher or
a jet aircraft pilot. Each of these might have called him, but each
failed to capture his devoted attention. Instead, this Midwesterner made
a singular and historic seagoing vision the centerpiece of his life's
work. He became the builder, owner, and captain of the engineless
topsail schooner he refers to simply as "my Shenandoah."