The cycle of life
- Thread starter Phil Herring
- Start date
Thanks for the site Phil. It has certainly been a major source of boating information for me over the last 20 years.
Thanks for this extremely valuable forum, Phil and Bly. The opportunity to share and learn has been invaluable to so many. Best of luck in all your future endeavors.
25 years ago I accepted your invitation to host a new "headmistress" forum on what was then just the fledgling Hunter Owners Website (HOW). It was the smartest thing I've ever done because you literally launched my career as a marine sanitation "guru." And I grew as HOW became sbo.com and turned into THE site for novice and seasoned sailors alike under your leadership. I will be forever grateful to you for allowing me to participate. I will miss you, but I too am proving the truth of the old saying "gettin' old ain't for sissies" so I wish you all the best and hope you'll drop by now and then to let us know what you're up to. You may have "rechristened" yourself as a civilian, but to me you're the sbo.com Admin Emeritus. So please refloat your battleship, just decommission it and proudly claim the title!
--Peggie
--Peggie
Phil, there isn't an emoji to click that expresses how I feel about your post. I am grateful for what you have created, both for me and for all the sailors aboard the virtual SV SBO. I am saddened to read of your retirement and I am hopeful that you return often. Your experience, wisdom, and steady hand at the helm has made SBO my vicarious sailing vessel for a number of years now.
I can not, from this day forward, step aboard a boat, virtual or otherwise, and not hope to bump into you again.
I hope for the best weather, the most seaworthy of vessels, the best deckhands, and the prettiest, most willing companions, at all your ports of call for you.
-Will
I can not, from this day forward, step aboard a boat, virtual or otherwise, and not hope to bump into you again.
I hope for the best weather, the most seaworthy of vessels, the best deckhands, and the prettiest, most willing companions, at all your ports of call for you.
-Will
Phil,
You did it WRONG !!! You've set the bar so high that it will impossible for it to be topped..
Hoping that you don't go bananas with all the idle time...
Cheers,
Rick
You did it WRONG !!! You've set the bar so high that it will impossible for it to be topped..
Hoping that you don't go bananas with all the idle time...
Cheers,
Rick
Hard to know what to add to these comments, Phil. I hope you have some satisfaction seeing a vision come to reality and grow beyond that vision. Over the quarter century plus that I have been a part of these forums, I have benefited a great deal by learning, applying, and avoiding screw ups. I can only hope I have helped some others. Its been a great ride; enjoy some time off and have fun with your new venture.
Phil: Good luck Mate. One of the regrets in my life is that I never had the chance to meet you and Bly. We've been in Seattle a few times (cruises) but time did not allow a visit.
Shortly after you and Bly started your business we crossed paths. I was trying to find an outlet for my books and charts but no one was interested in carrying my products. The first question they asked was about my sales track record - how was I supposed to create a track record when no one would carry my products! I was so used to hearing NO that I almost started off each conversation with NO and then I called you and Bly. Both of you said YES and I thought I misunderstood but that was the start of a great business relationship that has resulted in over 20,000 books and charts sold to sailors in every country in the world. Business relationships were consummated differently in those days - we've never had a contract. Our word was our bond.
Shortly thereafter I casually mentioned to you and Bly that I was a lister on a Catalina 30 owners site and that I knew the folks at Garhauer. At that point the idea of the SAIL TRIM FOUM was born. There is nothing like it anywhere in the sailing community. I thought I knew sail trim but the FORUM contributors showed me I had a lot more to learn.
Thank you two guys for all you've done for me.
Shortly after you and Bly started your business we crossed paths. I was trying to find an outlet for my books and charts but no one was interested in carrying my products. The first question they asked was about my sales track record - how was I supposed to create a track record when no one would carry my products! I was so used to hearing NO that I almost started off each conversation with NO and then I called you and Bly. Both of you said YES and I thought I misunderstood but that was the start of a great business relationship that has resulted in over 20,000 books and charts sold to sailors in every country in the world. Business relationships were consummated differently in those days - we've never had a contract. Our word was our bond.
Shortly thereafter I casually mentioned to you and Bly that I was a lister on a Catalina 30 owners site and that I knew the folks at Garhauer. At that point the idea of the SAIL TRIM FOUM was born. There is nothing like it anywhere in the sailing community. I thought I knew sail trim but the FORUM contributors showed me I had a lot more to learn.
Thank you two guys for all you've done for me.
Thanks for the excellent job you've done with the forum, Phil.. Pushing all the great information into a logical and easily accessed pile is quite an accomplishment for we folks with inquiring minds (that want to know) I wish you the best going forward with the new endeavor(s) and of course with the health trials ..
Wow, shocked but not surprised.
When we bought our boat 16 years ago, I knew how to sail, but nothing about the boat systems. I found this site and there was some guy throwing anchors off the roof of his wifes mini-van and I learned about scope, rode and anchor types. A lady was explaining how to keep the plumbing system running properly and clean. Others were going into detail on how batteries and the electrical system kept energized.
When Brian headed off for a couple of years I got a message from Phil, asking if I would help with Moderating. WHAT? ME???? Wow, surprised and flattered and I became part of the best sailing forum on the net and for the past 15 years have enjoyed supporting and helping build a great sailing source.
@Phil Herring enjoy the break, look after your health and thank you for your contribution to sailing.
When we bought our boat 16 years ago, I knew how to sail, but nothing about the boat systems. I found this site and there was some guy throwing anchors off the roof of his wifes mini-van and I learned about scope, rode and anchor types. A lady was explaining how to keep the plumbing system running properly and clean. Others were going into detail on how batteries and the electrical system kept energized.
When Brian headed off for a couple of years I got a message from Phil, asking if I would help with Moderating. WHAT? ME???? Wow, surprised and flattered and I became part of the best sailing forum on the net and for the past 15 years have enjoyed supporting and helping build a great sailing source.
@Phil Herring enjoy the break, look after your health and thank you for your contribution to sailing.
1996, wow, Phil!When Bly Berken and I launched this site in 1996, Amazon was a fledgling bookstore, Bill Clinton did not have sex with that woman, and 68% of people said they would *never* send their credit card number over the internet (turned out they had a point).
Since then, across all our sites we've logged 3 million forum posts, registered 153,000 users, and shipped 156,000 orders. That's a pretty good run for a small business and I am beyond happy that it's well-positioned for another successful 25 years.
However, SBO's future will unfold without me, as the time has come to step down.
A bout with Covid, cancer treatments, and age have made it difficult to write code and it's put a dent in my writing, too. Those have been my primary contributions to the site for the past 5 years and the SBO team deserves better support than I can now provide. I also think I might have one more start-up left in me, something a little slower and simpler.
SBO is in good hands; hands that I trust. Al has owned the organization for 5 years now and has brought many positive changes to the site. With the business in Florida, he has lots of potential employees with sailboat building experience at Hunter, Catalina, et al, and lots of manufacturers who work in the marine business. That's good news for the site and for sailboat owners everywhere.
I've met so many amazing people through SBO: Peggie, Jim Bohart, Rodd Collins, Brian D, Don Guillette, Jim Seamans, Rick Dinon, Gary Wyngarden, John Hadley, and a hundred others. I will definitely be back now and then to check in on things.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this site, some of you from its first days. I don't have the words to describe how much it has meant to me to see this dream take flight and actually do a little bit of good in the world.
I'll be seein' ya here soon... but next time, as a civilian!
Phil
It must have been around 2000(?) that you rescued the whole lot of us from the closing Cruising World Bulletin Board. A few of us were in straight jackets (or should have been). I can't imagine why CW wanted to shut us down.
And you kept taping up the old software format (one step up from AOL chat group format), as the group couldn't change with the times. Your patience was endless.
Thanks for your many kindnesses over the years. Here's hoping your health improves with your next phase.
Thank you!
Thanks for the heart and soul you poured into SBO over these many years Phil. You've been a huge part of this being a great and valuable place for boat owners to get resources that are hard or impossible to find elsewhere. Best of luck in your next adventure!
Phil,
Thanks for your ingenuity & efforts in creating and improving this forum. Over the past 18 years I have been entertained and educated over the course of ownership of two boats. And, thanks for monitoring the site and maintaining civility amongst the members. SBO has become my "go to" source for info regarding technical problems as well as general sailing information. I wish you all the best and a speedy resolution of your medical condition.
Thanks for your ingenuity & efforts in creating and improving this forum. Over the past 18 years I have been entertained and educated over the course of ownership of two boats. And, thanks for monitoring the site and maintaining civility amongst the members. SBO has become my "go to" source for info regarding technical problems as well as general sailing information. I wish you all the best and a speedy resolution of your medical condition.
... there are three other boating forums that I have quit because the tone and tennor is toxic. This one is an exception to the rule.
Best of luck Phil.
I have really enjoyed SBO as an information resource, some fun banter (and the Funny Friday thread), the Boat Babe thread, and buying from the site store.
My wife has Facebook, and I have SBO.
You created a nice place to hang out and get info.
I wish you the best for the next chapter of you life.
Greg
I have really enjoyed SBO as an information resource, some fun banter (and the Funny Friday thread), the Boat Babe thread, and buying from the site store.
My wife has Facebook, and I have SBO.
You created a nice place to hang out and get info.
I wish you the best for the next chapter of you life.
Greg