About the Captain and Crew Staff
Captain:
Hi. My name is Joe Drago and I have been messing around on boats for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are playing with toy cars on the cabin sole of my uncle's O'day 22 and weekend trips to Fire Island. Somewhere around the age where memories first begin I was making different boat designs out of tinfoil, experimenting with keel and bottom shapes and using little stones for ballast and trying to sail them on ponds, the bay and puddles. As I got older, I was playing around in my grandfather's skiff a bunch and joining him on his big, Canadian built Donelle to head out fishing. By the time high school started, I began "borrowing" my parents' O'Day 272 and I'd ride my bike down to the dock instead of first period and galavant around the Great South Bay. At age 16, I started working on a commercial fishing boat and not long after, realized I was going to make my living on the water. I left school in pursuit of an offshore education.
Almost 20 years later, the commercial fishing industry was becoming ever more difficult to make a living in and it was time to start thinking of other options. That's when the idea for Sailing Resolution came about. I've combined my lifetime of acquired nautical skills, my passion for sailing, love for adventure traveling and upgraded my sailboat to make this a reality.
In regards to my experience I started adding things up at one point and after getting upwards of 300,000 nm I just stopped trying to keep track of time offshore. I’ve spent between 250- 300 days a year on the ocean for the last 22 years. That experience has given me the opportunity to break about everything there is to break on boats, fix just about everything you can fix and deal with situations such as MOB to rescuing folks from a boat run down by a container ship and riding out tropical storms. I’ve traveled offshore from warm trade-winds in the Caribbean to battling 90 knot winter storms on Georges Bank to dealing with mountain downdrafts and fickle winds in the fjords of Newfoundland. I’ve spent hundreds of days in and crossing the Gulf Stream on small fishing boats as well as sailboats and know it well. My mentor invented the “Gulf Stream Set” for swordfish where we would spend about 8-12 weeks per year in the stream. For those trips I am especially grateful. I learned the idiosyncrasies of the stream and unfortunately/fortunately have seen how bad it can really get when the forecast is wrong or our judgement was wrong. A place of true rogue waves when wind and tide disagree.
The ocean is a place for constant education and awe and I hope to facilitate a learning experience as well as an adventure as we all enroll in whatever class she decides to teach us on that particular trip. When I'm not sailing I'm an avid hiker, climber, cross country skier and traveler. I cherish my time home with my wife Lisa and my two dogs Sam and Winnie. Thank you for taking the time to check us out and I very much look forward to sharing my passion for traveling via water and wind with you.
- Joe DragoUS Coast Guard 100 Ton Near Coastal Captain's License
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Vessel Operator Permit
Mate:
Hi, I'm Lisa. I've been sailing with my husband, Joe for several years. I taught middle school science for the last 21 years and have decided to work full-time now doing sailing charters for Sailing Resolution with Joe and our two dogs, Sammy and Winnie.
In addition to being on the water, I love hiking, exploring new places, woodworking, ecology, being in the woods, mountain top views, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, cooking, camping, and always trying to learn more about how humans can have a lesser impact on our planet.
I look forward to sailing with you!
Lisa Gizzarelli-Drago
ASA 101: Basic Keelboat Sailing
ASA 103: Basic Cruising
Canine Crew:
Winnie Sammy