It was a day he would never forget - a question that would resonate, become an obsession and rule Bill Kinney's life for almost twenty years, "Why don't we buy a boat and sail around the world?" With little more than an abundant desire to succeed, he took a fantasy and made it into a reality. Six years after that fateful day, he stepped aboard SANCTUARY - a sailboat built by Bill's own hands and commenced a ten year journey at sea - cruising half way around the world. It's a fascinating and inspirational story about a man that broke the rules. He fashioned his life, from a meager beginning, through years of rewarding opportunities mixed with implausible risks. For some unknown reason, he had a propensity to create outlandish goals and then by some quirk, execute most successfully. Leaving the comfort of a stable environment and venturing into unknown territory seemed to be his modus operandi. This is his story, told in his own words - in a casual, fun loving, storyline manner. He makes an effort to talk 'with' you, not 'at' you - while standing next to him on the deck of Sanctuary, wandering the whimsical beaches of the Caribbean or facing the fury of Hurricane Hugo. He hopes you will feel the emotions during those times of tranquility and turmoil - peaceful moments of sand and surf and violent moments of storms and turbulent seas.
About the Author: Born in Norwich, Connecticut, Bill graduated National Honor Society from the Norwich Free Academy and earned a degree in Photography Science and Engineering in 1964 from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. After graduation, Bill was hired by Houston Fearless Corporation to research aerospace photographic processing systems and at Technicolor Corporation working in the color TV and movie industry. In 1966 he joined Itek and worked in the development of satellite camera systems used extensively during the Cold War and for exploration of the lunar surface. He then, along with his partner Don, started Microtek Corporation and later, with his wife Molly, Grayscale Labs. Both of his companies were nationally acclaimed as leaders in the field of medical x-ray microfilming. Bill, determined to retire at the age of 40, was inspired to build his own sailboat. He constructed "Sanctuary" in the backyard of his home in Georgia from a set of blueprints. It materialized onto a magnificent 43' sailboat - it took him five years. The sailboat was hauled down I-75 to Savannah and launched at Thunderbolt Marina on December 3, 1982, one month after his 40th birthday. Ted Turner's Super Station aired the launching of "Sanctuary" for the "Winners" series and Bill and Molly left the corporate world for ten years of sailing the world -from New England to South America; to Bermuda, the Azores and Spain; from Gibraltar to the Canary Islands and Granada and finally to its resting place in Fernandina Beach, Florida. In 1992 Bill moved off Sanctuary, became a landlubber and began using his artistic abilities in the retail world. He refreshed his photography education, developed film in his darkroom at home, and worked with digital photos. Now, Bill is producing photo paintings using the imagination of his mind, the view thru his eyes, and the wonder of the camera lens. In less than a year he was accepted as an exhibiting artist at the Amelia Island Art Association and did shows at the First Community Bank Quarterly Art Show, and Florida Community College of Jacksonville, and won second prize in an Amelia Island Museum of History Exhibit. He is now retired and decided to write a book about his life, hoping it will be an inspiration for yet one person to venture out of the comfort zone and undertake a life of adventure.