Fair Winds Charlie and Maureen Morgan

At the end of a long, imaginative and exceptional life, Charlie Morgan liked to paint seascapes, yachts sailing, Tampa Bay sunsets. Charlie left us on January 9. He was above all a Renaissance man, a creator of things, boats, designs, experiences and companies. And paintings. He also liked to fly planes. And, he deeply enjoyed his old friends, friends who were not shy about loving life. Of the things he created, the earliest sign of yachting prodigy was the race boat Paper Tiger, his first design commission, which won the SORC….in dim history…two years running. That success led to many opportunities, including the Morgan Yacht Company that he sold for a life changing profit, to building America’s Cup sails for an Olin Stephens America’s Cup campaign, to an America’s Cup campaign aboard his own design Heritage. And then he went on to build truly sound cruising trawlers for the power cruising clan. But this was all a long time ago. Perhaps what will be most remembered now is the Out Island 41, and bigger sister, Out Island 51, designs that defined the early charter business in the Caribbean and set the stage for truly roomy, easy-to-sail modern cruisers. It is probably poetic that Charlie Morgan’s wife Maureen died two days before he did. Together they leave a story of lives well led that are quietly and persistently inspirational. Fair winds old friends.