Michael McNemeny, Burma:
“For me, the highest level of personal fulfillment and contentment has always come from the enjoyment of providing service to others — both directly and indirectly,” muses Michael McNemeny. “We have spent the last 25 years caring for and servicing our wooden motorsailer Burma so that my family and friends can have an experience on the water unlike any other.”
McNemeny and his wife, Debbie, owned and ran a very successful Silicon Valley contracting business specializing in data centers for 22 years. They also owned and ran a Davis-designed, Nevins-built 1950 motorsailer for 25 years.
“We had always tried to balance the needs of the business, family, and Burma. In the beginning, the business dominated our lives and then the needs of the family would take precedence, but eventually when our children left home for their new horizons, more time for Burma became available.” A friend asked McNemeny to charter Burma to a member of the New York Yacht Club for its annual summer cruise and that was just the beginning of a new chapter in his life.
“There is no question that chartering was hard work, but the rewards were incredible in so many ways. I already had my 100-ton Coast Guard license, but I had no experience in the service of chartering, and what were the expectations of a member and official of the NYYC? Since that first, nine-day charter with someone who has become a very dear friend, we have chartered each summer, and truly love everything about it. Chartering for us has greatly increased the joy and pleasure of owning Burma. For the past several years now she has paid her way as a sustainable business, covering her maintenance expenses and then some.”
McNemeny keeps Burma in impeccable, Bristol condition and has spent hundreds of hours researching her history. He’s also a knowledgeable and relaxed skipper of Maine coastal waters. He continues to work with the NYYC and served for 13 years on Mystic Seaport Museum’s Board of Directors before stepping over to their National Council of Advisors.
Of his dramatic change of life since “retiring,” McNemeny remarks, “You know what they say; if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.” Atlantic Pacific Charters, (650) 388-0537; www.atlanticpacificcharters.com
