Sailing Story: Dave Shafer

Dave Shafer had never even visited Montana before. In fact, he’d only just been getting into sailing and by all accounts, he assumed Montana wouldn’t have much to offer him in the way of sailing. 

However, as he sat up late one night on anchor watch, with his captain on an ASA sailing course in the Virgin Islands, he began to change his mind. 

“I said to [Captain Trevon], ‘You’re from Montana, what are you going to sail on— a Glacier?!’” Dave laughed. However, he realized the joke was on him when Captain Trevon began showing him photos sailing Flathead Lake.

“I’d never been to Montana but I thought—I’m going to be in Montana soon,” Dave recalled. “We went out to Montana this summer just to meet back up with him!”

The decision ended up being a wise one. Flathead Lake was just as pretty as the photos Captain Trevon had shown him. “It’s unbelievably beautiful,” he said. “I live on the East Coast where the population is dense. Out there, there is space— and it’s gorgeous!”

Captain Trevon had reserved Dave a monohull sailboat to explore Flathead Lake. “The experience made me nervous to tell you the truth,” Dave laughed. “You really don’t have a bunch of experience but your Captain who believes in you has a boat reserved for you. There was a little bit of pressure!”

However, Dave’s original trepidations about traveling to Montana and sailing his first monohull quickly washed away as he soaked in the warm breeze on Flathead Lake. 

“I can tell you this, it has changed my outlook on life,” he said. “This summer I guarantee you I’ll be back in Montana giving [Captain Trevon] a rough time!”