Cruising Together- CCA awards couple for decade-long sailing

by Kirsten Ferguson on 15 Feb 2013 The Cruising Club of America (CCA) has selected Stephen and Karyn James (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) to receive its 2012 Far Horizon Award for a commendable ten years and 38,000 miles of cruising. The award is given to a member of CCA 'for a particularly meritorious cruise or series of cruises that exemplify the objectives of the Club.' The award will be presented by Commodore Daniel P. Dyer, III at the annual Awards Dinner on March 1, 2013 at New York Yacht Club in Manhattan.

After 30 years as an American Airlines pilot, Stephen retired in 2003. Prior to that, in 2002, he and his wife, Karyn, commissioned the 54-foot aluminum yacht Threshold – designed by Chuck Paine and built by Kanter Yachts. That year, the duo started cruising the Great Lakes in North America and Canada and in 2003 sailed to Bermuda to compete in the double handed leg of the Bermuda One-Two Yacht Race, which brought them to Newport, R.I. After that, they sailed farther north to Nova Scotia, Canada.

In 2004, the couple sailed Threshold east to Ireland by way of Bermuda and the Azores Islands to take part in the Irish Cruising Club 75th Anniversary Cruise, after which they circumnavigated Ireland before enjoying a six-week cruise to the Western Isles of Scotland and wintering at St. Katherine Docks in London, England. In 2005, Stephen and Karyn headed north to the Shetland Islands (Scotland), then across to Sweden, Denmark, Holland (Netherlands) and Belgium and ended the voyage in France where they stored the boat for the winter in La Rochelle.

In 2006, they cruised to Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Morocco, then wintered the boat in Lagos (Portugal). The year of 2007 was spent cruising in the Western Mediterranean before heading to the Canary Islands where the boat wintered.

In 2008, the duo covered over 7,000 miles in just six months. That journey started from the Canary Islands and continued on to the Azores Islands before the two explored the Orkney and Shetland Islands in Scotland. Karyn and Stephen then crossed the North Sea to Norway where they spent time in the Lofoten Islands before sailing 500 miles north to Svalbard and reaching 80 degrees north. After four weeks cruising in the area, they headed south to Scotland by way of the Caledonian Canal and stored the boat on the Clyde at Fairlie Quay for the winter.

2009 saw the two cruising the Western Isles of Scotland and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. Then it was south and on to Spain, Portugal and the Balearic Islands (Spanish Territory) in the Western Mediterranean Sea before putting up the boat for the winter in Barcelona, Spain.

The following year was spent in Spain (Majorca and Minorca), Italy (Sardinia, Elba and Sicily) Tunisia and Malta.

In 2011 and 2012 the couple cruised in Croatia, Venice (Italy), Slovenia, the Ionian Islands and the islands of Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea. Threshold was then stored in Didim (Turkey) for the Cruising Club of America