Retired mechanical engineer/project manager & small business entrepreneur.
Did invention-level machine design of automated material handling equipment, automated guided vehicles, robots, laser beam recticle writers, special purpose cranes. Was the PE wet stamp and pjt manager for equipment installs in Intel fabs. Put together a complicated expensive factory that was supposed to make eco-friendly burger boxes.
Designed equipment used to explosively implode/incinerate mustard/nerve agent rounds (WMD's). That was interesting. That lead to my s-corp wherein I manufactured detonator system components consumed when imploding the WMD's. I still get occasional calls for that stuff, make it up in my basement.
While all this was going on, I was partner in a business venture called "motorcycle track days." I rented racetracks, loaded them up with riders on sport bikes and taught them how to do high performance motorcycle riding (told them why they were slow and what to do about it without getting hurt.)
Did that for 17 years, huge fun and great memories, done with that. Still ride, but not on tracks.
Along the way, I had the benefit of great mentors/managers. I quit perfectly good easy jobs to go work with awesome owners/managers on really good hard jobs.
Started "boating" when I had to learn how to claw off of a rocky lee shore in a small boat that my dad built for us kids. It was a huge piece of freedom to be able to connect and play the water, wind and sky. Years on the water, skiing and so on. Got exposed to Desolation Sound level boating when my dad retired; that became the dream when I was mired in a GE trailer/cubie-land on a jobsite.
Built a sliding seat rowboat, rowed it over most of Oregon's rivers and lakes, then into the San Juans. It's been in the Pt Townsend wood boat show twice.
Got into the trawler a year ago, that has been a best-ever decision, living the dream. Great views topside, w/ice for drinks below! My extensive background means I can tackle most maintenance and refurbishment myself, which is satisfying in its own way.
I could never in my wildest imagination have written a script that would describe the path that got me here...