Roger Olson: The Author

The Author

Roger Olson in 1992

Today, Roger Olson lives in the Republic of Panama where he enjoys sailing the local waters and outer islands aboard NEREUS.

He was born and raised in California. After completing high school he enlisted in the Navy. Then he went to the University of Fresno majoring in Education, planning to become a teacher..

After receiving his Bachelor's Degree, Roger got married. Shortly, he had his Master's Degree in Education and a Vocational Credential. Then there was the divorce.

The divorce relieved him of all his assets and family responsibilities. This is when he took up sailing. He spent many weeks in the library learning about sailing and dreaming of owning his own boat. It didn’t take long before he bought an authentic 30-foot Chinese Junk. This vessel was different from the boats he had been reading about so he returned to the library to continue studying the sailing characteristics and design of the Chinese Junk.

The primary objective for buying the Chinese Junk was to meet women. His thinking was that something as unusual as a Chinese Junk would draw the curiosity of the opposite sex. He put colorful painted wood carved dragons on the sides of the boat. The inside was mostly a big bed with some Chinese paper lanterns and a wood burning fireplace. He christened the boat, "The Peace of Junk", which was cast in solid bronze across the transom. This was in the late 60’s so he had the sail made with a huge peace sign in the middle. Roger was a true hippy during this stage of his life and did all the things all the hippies did in those days.

He spent several years sailing the Chinese Junk and then decided to buy a boat he could pull behind his van. This would permit him to visit places that would be difficult to reach otherwise. He bought a Lyle Hess designed Balboa 20 footer. As a teacher, he had the summer months off which allowed him the opportunity to tow his boat to the Channel Islands, Monterey - Santa Cruz and various lakes. As his confidence and ability grew, he extended his trips to towing his little boat to Baja, Mexico to sail the Sea of Cortez. The Baja trips continued every summer for years until he finally sailed from San Diego down the West coast of Baja and up the East coast to San Felipe in the beautiful Sea of Cortez. His first writing experience was of this trip. It was published in two monthly issues of Yachting Magazine in 1976.

Roger with Lyle Hess

It was during this time that Roger developed a close friendship with Lyle Hess. They spent many hours discussing the changes that had to be made to the Balboa to make her more seaworthy. Not only was Lyle a superb boat designer but he was an excellent sailor. Using his skill and knowledge, Lyle made many suggestions about how the boat could be more easily single-handed.

After spending months each year sailing the Sea of Cortez, the desire to go cruising was growing stronger. Now he knew he needed a larger boat so he could live aboard and save money to go cruising. He bought a 40-foot sloop, which he sailed extensively in southern California. As his confidence increased, he made several trips to San Francisco and back and to Mexico and back. He soon discovered it was more boat than he could safely handle by himself so he began his search for a smaller cruising vessel.

Xiphius

The first person he approached with his quest was Lyle Hess. Lyle pointed him toward the Bristol Channel Cutter he had designed. It was only 28-feet long but had the lines that took ones heart. Soon Roger sold his 40-footer and bought a partly completed Bristol Channel Cutter that he christened: XIPHIAS.

June 1979, Roger and a new lady friend departed from Dana Point, California to sail non-stop to the Marquesas, 3,200 nautical miles. This was the beginning of his cruising career.

For the next 13-years, Roger cruised and worked to maintain the lifestyle he had grown to love. His parents were elderly and were having some difficulty with daily routines. The previous passing of his brother left him as the sole caregiver for his parents. He knew he had to return home soon. XIPHIAS was sold in Singapore.

Back in California he had to begin living the mainland lifestyle. He went to work as a consultant for the company that built XIPHIAS, the Sam L. Morse Company in Costa Mesa, California. Soon he owned and ran the company.

Nereus

During his ownership of the company, he built another Bristol Channel Cutter he christened: NEREUS.

After his parents passed away, Roger returned to cruising. He sailed down the coast to Panama where he fell in love with the county and its people. There, he owns a small condominium and continues to sail the islands and nearby countries.