July 2005, the fourth of July weekend, Darlene and I were riding our bikes around the village down by the ICW when Darlene spotted a catamaran at the dock. We cycled over as we were in the market hunting to buy a catamaran and got talking to the couple on board. We were invited aboard and after cocktails, I returned to bring them to our home. That is how we met Beverly Eckert and Shawn Monks, her boyfriend. It was not till some 5 hours together that we learned of Beverly's tragic story regarding 911 and her husband, Sean Rooney.

After Beverly read Hope Merchant sailing away, a friendship was built and some 3 months later, she and Shawn offered us the use of their catamaran, Neverland, in the Caribbean. I flew to Standford, CT, to meet up with her and Shawn to go over Neverland's complex systems, and was convinced to sail to Bermuda the next day. It was on that 5 day passage and the weeks in Bermuda that I really got to know Beverly. On the passage to Bermuda, we got hit with a severe storm, lost our life raft, had an escape hatch open and nearly sink the boat and suffered other damage en-route that resulted in us hauling the boat in Bermuda.

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I introduced her and Shawn to our friend, Stewart Mott, who loved playing scrabble. While Shawn and I worked on the boat on the dock at Stewart's house, Berverly entertained Stewart for hours playing scrabble. The passage to Bermuda was about as much ocean sailing Beverly cared to do, so Darlene and I sailed the boat to the Caribbean and hung out for 6 weeks. It was during that 6 weeks that I came across El Gecco which was to become our boat the following year. I hold fond memories on Neverland with our granddaughter who was then 3 months old sailing with us for a few weeks.

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Neverland and El Gecco rendezvoused in 2007 in the Spanish Virgin Island when I had my mother on board. Shawn and Bervely sailed side by side with us for a week. We reconnect months later back at our home in South Carolina.

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Just this week Darlene and Beverly were talking about our trip to Gitmo and her meeting with President Obama. Little were to know it would be our last contact with her. I spoke with Shawn this morning on learning of her being on that fateful Continental Airline crash. I was flying home last night when the crash took place. Life is so fragile. Our heart goes out to our friend Shawn for his loss, and to Beverly's family. Not only did we loose a good friend, a sailor but also someone who was working to make our world a better place. Now She is with her husband, and playing scrabble with Stewart who died last year of cancer.

Here is a great interview with Beverly