Joe Dorr was born in Annapolis, Md., and raised on the Severn River. He grew up swimming, boating, and skiing. He holds a BS and a Master?s degree from the University of Maryland. After successfully completing AOCS and spending three and one half years in the U.S. Navy, Joe worked for NCR Corp. until he joined AceComm Corp. in 1980. Together with his wife, Elke, who teaches part time at Hood College, they have four children and one son-in-law.
After living in Middletown Valley, Md., for 19 years and restoring an historic farmhouse, Joe and Elke currently reside in Montgomery County, Md.
Joe?s sailing experience includes exploring the Chesapeake Bay; sailing north from Annapolis to Maine; sailing to and from Florida twice; and exploring the Florida Keys. In response to why he wanted to undertake a circumnavigation of the globe -- a long-held dream -- Joe claims his early life on the water prompted in him a desire to see life on the water in other parts of the world. Additionally, Joe says he likes testing his self-reliance, and has a strong sense of adventure. Joe?s mother agreed, adding that he has always sought challenges that test his self-reliance and resourcefulness, qualities he learned at a young age.
Joe observed that the most challenging part of preparing for the voyage was "deciding what to do to the boat, given the many options (such as various means for generating energy) to make it as safe as possible for the crew." Asked what he most looks forward to about the voyage, Joe responded, "fair sailing, gaining first-hand knowledge about places I?ve only read about, generally living life on the water, and homecoming.
Bob joined the crew of Cosmos in St. Thomas as the third member of the Home-Run crew for the last leg of the circumnavigation. BobÕs only qualification for the crew is his willingness to try new things. Previous sailing experience includes a few afternoons on the Chesapeake Bay. In 2000 he crossed the Drake Passage on a small ship to tour Antarctica and run a marathon.
Bob was born in 1939 in Provo, Utah and grew up working on the family dairy farm. After graduation in Architecture he and his former wife Jody served as Peace Corps volunteers in Tunisia. Most of his career has been in urban planning consulting in developing countries. At present he is a residential developer buying, renovating and selling houses in BaltimoreÕs historic neighborhoods.
Bob and his partner Bruce live in Baltimore. They share a 110-year-old house that they gutted and completely renovated. Both are runners and have a goal of running a marathon in every continent. After running the Recife, Brazil marathon this summer, they will have only Africa left to reach their goal.
Michael is married to the beautiful and accomplished Daphne. Mike graduated from Towson University and holds a Masters Degree from Johns Hopkins University. He is now a Resource Teacher at the Rockville Institute of Children and Adolescents in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Mike loves being the father of the eight-month old Cullen Joseph McKay. In his spare time he enjoys competitive golf and basketball.
Before joining Cosmos in the Caribbean, Mike went on day sails with Captain Joe on a charter boat in Maine and on Cosmos on the Chesapeake Bay. Captain Joe said, ÒAmong all of the crew on the circumnavigation, Mike ranks tops in enthusiasm and progress learning everything about boat and sail handling aboard Cosmos.Ó Mike is hoping for future sailing adventures on Cosmos.
Dave Lang grew up in Severn, Maryland and now lives on a farm southeast of Newark, Ohio where he is a Township Trustee. Before retiring, Dave worked for Nationwide Insurance Company as a supervisor in Information Systems.
Dave has gone on three earlier excursions aboard Cosmos (then
named Scorpio). He sailed around the Delmarva Peninsula in
April, 1998; he and his wife, Chris, also sailed from Fort
Lauerdale to south Miami and cruised in Key Biscayne Bay with
Joe and Elke in 2000; and he sailed from Key West to Naples,
via the Dry Tortugas in 2001, before Joe and the Cosmos
leftFlorida on the circumnavigation.
George was born in Scotland and raised in the Washington, D.C area. He and wife, Kathy, an orthopedic surgical nurse, have two married daughters as well as four grandchildren. George and Kathy live in Middletown, Md., in a house that bears much evidence of George?s meticulous handiwork and craftsmanship.
George began sailing at the age of sixteen in South Creek, off the Potomac River. During his four years in the U.S. Navy, George was able to do some additional sailing, which he continued sporadically until the 1970s, when he began sailing seriously. His love of boats is demonstrated by his having built a Southern Cross 31 from a bare hull and rebuilding a 40-foot steel Joshua ketch.
His sailing experience includes a voyage to Nova Scotia and back, sailing to Florida and in the Caribbean, as well as extensive sailing in the Chesapeake Bay. George and Kathy have particularly fond memories of sailing in the Grenadines, a favorite place for them both. They keep a 36-foot Islander Freeport on the West River, in Md.
Retiring from Eastalco May 31, 2001, after 31 years and 3 months, allowed George to seriously consider Joe Dorr?s invitation to join the Cosmos crew. According to George, "the timing was perfect." Joe and George have sailed Cosmos together previously from Florida to Maryland, and from Maryland to Florida. Looking forward to the circumnavigation, George hopes to "stay healthy enough to finish, and to enjoy the experience." When asked what he feels is the most challenging part of the preparations, George replied without hesitation, "getting acclimated to the heat and humidity in Florida!" He also anticipates that keeping the boat performing well throughout the voyage will be the real challenge.
In her youth Rachael spent many hours avoiding crashes in her Topper dingy while sailing around her local harbour in Emsworth, England. Here she learned many valuable skills that would serve her well as a member of the Cosmos Crew in the Caribbean (donÕt sail, just sunbathe).
Rachael now lives in Cambridge, England. She works for United Nations
Environment Programme.
Daphne is the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Joe and Elke Dorr (owners of Cosmos). Daphne lives in Germantown Maryland and is a staff development teacher at nearby Kingsview Middle School. As a result of her classroom curriculum, a television program on Maryland Public Television called ÒBaptism in the BayÓ featured DaphneÕs eighth grade science class raising and planting wild celery in the Chesapeake Bay.
In August 2002, Daphne gave birth to Cullen Joseph McKay, a certain-to-be future-member of the Cosmos Crew. Daphne continues to teach at Kingsview three days each week while Nana McKay and Grammy Dorr care for Cullen.
Daphne sailed with her father on the Chesapeake Bay and in Maine, before joining the Cosmos in the Caribbean. She is second only to her father in suffering from seasickness, but like her father, has the determination to persevere and enjoy the cruising life aboard Cosmos.
Chris grew up on the Severn River in Maryland, and now lives on a farm southeast of Newark, Ohio, where she raised three children and many sheep. Working from a studio in her home, Chris uses wool from her sheep to design and make ornamental teddy bears and hand-felted wall hangings. Like her husband, Dave, Chris joined her brother Joe when Cosmos (then named Scorpio) sailed around the Delmarva Peninsula in 1998, and from Fort Lauderdale to south Miami and into Key Biscayne Bay with Joe and Elke in 2000. Chris has enjoyed water sports all her life, and particularly enjoys swimming in the Newark YMCA pool with her grandchildren and in the clear, warm waters of the Caribbean.
Emily is the daughter of Elke and Joe Dorr. She works as a graphics designer at Jean Peterson Design in Frederick, Maryland. Together with her firm, Emily has won innumerable Addy Awards and was the President of the Frederick Advertising Federation in 2002. Emily was named by Frederick Magazine as one of its top twelve, up-and-coming People to Watch in Frederick County, Maryland, for 2002. Most recently, Emily appeared in Frederick Business Week and The Frederick News Post for her work in Frederick's business community and for her volunteer work.
Emily has always been competitive and adventuresome. She developed her competitiveness at Middletown High School, where she helped take her soccer team to win the Maryland State Championship. Emily has enjoyed mountain and road biking, mountain trail hiking and occasionally kayaking. When her schedule allows, Emily enjoys cruising aboard Cosmos. Along with her brother, Aaron, Emily has twice sailed Cosmos the length of the Florida Keys without the aid of Captain Joe.
Emily joined the crew of Cosmos on the circumnavigation, sailing from Tobago to St. Lucia in the Caribbean Sea. Upon returning from her adventure, Emily said, "One of the best parts was sailing Cosmos into the beautiful Caribbean harbors, which is completely different from flying in, or arriving by car. We met interesting, colorful and helpful people when taking care of the needs of the boat, and when touring the islands. From the time I landed in Tobago, until the two-hour taxi ride to the airport at 3:00 in the morning, over the potholed roads of St. Lucia, the adventure never stopped."
Bill Whiteford was born in the USA. When Bill was 13, his family moved to the shores of the Severn River, Maryland, where he developed his lifelong love of water sports. As a teenager, he served as a lifeguard in his neighborhood community beach in Arden on the Severn.
Bill is a documentary filmmaker of major accomplishment. Along with his producing partner, Susan Hadary, Bill has been awarded six Emmys since 1985, and was honored with an Oscar at the 2001 Academy Awards for his documentary movie, KING GIMP.
Bill and the lovely Cecy Weyman, who works as an elementary school staff developer, enjoy life in their home on the Magothy River. Bill has enjoyed sailing sports, including windsurfing, for over 30 years. Before he learned to windsurf, Bill raced his Sol Cat in and around Annapolis. Currently he is learning how to kiteboard.
Bill has sailed aboard Cosmos twice, before joining for one month as a crewmember from Tobago to Antigua. In 2001, Bill sailed Cosmos into 30 knot winds from Key West to Naples via the Dry Tortugas. Bill and Captain Joe's lifelong friendship began at Arundel High School in the 1960s.
Daniel Walter was born 35 years ago in Grodcow, Poland. He graduated in History of Philosophy and Art History from Wroclaw University. For 2 years he worked as aguide in a Polish Tourist Company. For tast 9 years he worked for the candy company, Mars Inc., as a Sales Representative and Territory Account Manager. Now he is enjoying sailing which is his great hobby and love.
He started to sail at the age of 18, mainly on the cold Baltic and Nord Sea. During his study times, he often worked as a yachting instructor in sailing schools in Poland. From those times he developed his love for sailing on catamarans. In the difficult times of Poland (Communism and lack of free market) he built himself a few multihulls (first plywood and then fiberglass) for trade and the joy of being close to sailing. Now he is the owner of a Tornado class catamaran and uses it during every possible free time.
Daniel says, ?The journey on?Cosmos? seems to be the bigest adventure of my life (so far). This beautiful and very well-equipped boat which is designed and built for such a journey (easygoing, forgiving, very good maintaining and with experienced crew and skipper) will be his first blue water ocean cruise. His previous longest sailing was seven days and nights on the Baltic Sea.
Joost was born in the Netherlands some 37 years ago as the youngest of three brothers. As was interested in science and nature from an early age, he decided to study geology. After graduating from the University of Utrecht, he found it a challenge to broaden his horizon and to gain business knowledge. He soon entered the MBA-fulltime program of the Rotterdam School of Management/Graduate School of Business (RSM).
After this, he worked in northern Germany at Tetra Laval, Ernst & Young and Dräger medical systems all in the field of finance and controlling. When at home, he works on client projects in the Netherlands.
Apart from being a keen mountaineer, he enjoys sailing in a country that is known for its water and its sailing. He was crew on a Swan 57 from Southampton UK to the Seychelles and celebrated entry into the new millennium there. Trips to Scandinavia and frequent catamaran sailing on the North Sea add to his sailing experience.
Joost believes the Cosmos trip is an example of modern blue water sailing with solid preparation work and good organization. His experience from the past gives him confidence that this leg will contain adventure and hard work. Joost believes that as with mountaineering, one of the beauties of sailing is its necessity to ?use your brains? continuously in order to make sound decisions and oversee the consequences of your actions.
Mario was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1953, and moved himself to Cape Town in 1974 to work for an electronics company. In 1984, he moved to Durban to open a branch office for ARITECH an electronics firm implementing high tech electronic engineering solutions. He moved back to Cape Town in 1987 to start his own firm.
About that same time (1987), Mario was instrumental in starting the design and construction of 'AMC Classic Challenge', a Simonis 35 racing sailboat. Mario and his racing crews competed for three years and won almost every regatta in which they competed. The longest race entered was the Beachcomber Race, which was over 1,500 nautical miles, nonstop sailing from Port Louis, Mauritius to Durban, South Africa.
His cruise aboard Cosmos, from Durban to Cape Town will be Mario's first "sailboat cruise" since virtually all of his previous sailing experience was in competition. Mario said, "It will be a pleasure to sleep in a king-size bed on Cosmos, instead of sharing a 5' 6" hammock with three other crewmen on an ocean racer.
Steve Hall was born in London England in 1964. He lived there until 1989 when he moved to Australia where he lived for over five years, but in three different segments. Between those segments, he lived for one year in Thailand and one year in France. He also returned to the UK were he lived for four years. Steve also spent three months touring Nepal and India.
Steve has taken on a variety of jobs including office machine repairs, gardener, general building maintenance, scuba dive instructor, river cruise boat skipper and part-time volunteer on Maritime Museums classic boats, running day-trips on Auckland Harbor. Steve has scuba dived in Australia, Thailand and the Red Sea.
Steve has numerous certifications that helped to qualify him for the long cruise from New Zealand to South Africa including Boatmaster, Marine Medic, Sea Survival, and Padi Scuba Instructor. Steve has sailed in England and in Australia. His longest cruise was a transatlantic crossing on a 43? Dufour GS. He was a crew member on new boat delivery from La Rochelle to St. Lucia.
Anders was born in Sodertalje, Sweden in 1966 and began sailing early on in a small wooden boat. Then moved on to windsurfing, Laser, Maxi and Hobie Cat in the Swedish archipelago and also crewed on racing and transport in the Mediterranean. He has done part time work in a repair shop for boats and also served in the Royal Swedish Navy.
Anders has a Masters in Marketing/Economy and worked with internet recruitment on websites in Europe. He is currently in between jobs due to a recession in Sweden and therefore decided to get a good suntan and do some part time jobs in Australia.
Anders came into contact with Captain Joe via a mailing list on the internet. It was time for him to go home to Stockholm, Sweden and he was thrilled to be able to join the crew as part of his trip home.
Hilary Peabody grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. She began sailing at age 9 serving as the look-out in the bow of the family Mobjack. Her passion for sailing took hold a few summers later when she began racing dinghies out of Severn Sailing Association on the Chesapeake Bay. This led to crewing on larger boats as she got older, including one summer spent as foredeck crew on a J-24. She cruised the Chesapeake Bay extensively with her parents on their Cal 25 and crewed on a forty-foot Joshua Ketch from Galesville, Md. to Nova Scotia and back. She is looking forward to adding to her blue water sailing experience.
Hilary lives in Brooklyn, NY and works as an assistant editor on feature films. She anticipates the greatest challenge of the trip will be the long separation from friends, family, and New York City
Margareta is a secondary school teacher from Melbourne, Australia. Her for nature and the environment are evident in her biology and science teaching. Other subjects taught include Health & Human Development and Worldviews.
Margareta's interest in the world around her began at an early age. Born in Mexico and having a Swedish father, she traveled to Sweden to visit relatives as well as throughout Europe. This love of visiting other cultures has stayed with her for life and led to travels throughout Asia and the Americas. Margareta has always enjoyed the outdoors through bushwalking and cross-country skiing so sailing is a new challenge.
She heard about the Cosmos adventure through another crew member, Anders Toren. She has kept in touch with the crew through the satellite phone and is very grateful to Captain Joe's hospitality in allowing her to join Cosmos along the coral coast of Australia.
Tom is the Cosmos webmaster. He joined the Cosmos crew in New Zealand in April, 2002 to sail from the Bay of Islands across the Great Barrier Reef to Australia. Due to a delay in Cosmos' departure from New Zealand caused by boat maintenance, his trip was cut short to just sailing the Bay of Islands.
He lives in Darnestown, MD with his wife, Kathy. They have three married daughters, Shannon, Erin and Trish, two grandsons, Tommy (8) and Jack (5), and a third, Patrick John, due in July.
Tom grew up on Staten Island, NY -- he met Kathy in Texas in 1963. They lived in Minneapolis, Omaha, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and San Francisco in the first six years of their marriage, then spent 27 years in St. Louis before moving to Maryland in 1997. They celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary in January, 2002. Tom and Captain Joe worked together at ACE*COMM for over eleven years ? he is now Manager of Government Sales for Granite Systems, a Manchester, NH developer of telecommunications network support software.
Tom?s was introduced to sailing on the Mississippi River by his friend Ray Pawloski on Ray?s nineteen-foot Buccaneer. In 1996 he attended the Annapolis Sailing school and began sailing the Chesapeake with Captain Joe, first on a 34-foot Hunter and then on Scorpio. In late 1999, he was a member of Scorpio?s crew on a sail from Annapolis to the Bahamas and Florida.
Donald was born in Newton, N.C. in 1940. After high school he spent four years in Air Force and then three and one half years at Western Electric. Don earned his Electrical Engineering degree from N.C. State in 1970. He started working at Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Washington, D.C. in 1971. His work was primarily in facility electrical design.
Don started sailing in 1976 with a friend on a 50 foot wooden yawl. As with most sailing adventures there was a challenge when due to an engine failure the crew had to sail the boat right up to the dock and stop to tie on; all with no engine. This adventure keyed Don?s interest. He then took a course at the Annapolis Sailing School and has since taken all of the courses offered by the U.S. Power Squadron. Don made his first blue water passage in November of 1978, from Bermuda to Tortola. On this passage, Don became proficient at celestial navigation.
Don bought a Bristol 29 which, he owned for 22 years and he and his wife, Betty, lived aboard for about one year. During that year, they sailed out of Solomons Island as far south as Palm Beach, and as far north as Plymouth Mass.
Several offshore trips followed, until Don took an early out from his job with the Navy in 1993. With his new freedom, John took advantage of an offer to make an almost immediate transatlantic crossing in November of ?93. Don has about 12,00 miles of offshore experience.
Don currently resides in Lusby, Maryland with his wife Betty and their five fur babies (cats). He owns a Hunter 37 that he and Betty sail on the Chesapeake Bay. Don is a good friend of George Hotz and it was through George that Don became a member of the Cosmos Crew. Don is a Past Commodore of the Solomons Island Yacht Club a Past Commander of the Patuxant River Power and Sail Squadron and President of the local chapter of National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
Anton von Rotenhan(L) and Aaron Dorr (R)
Anton von Rotenhan was born on November 20, 1972 in Bamberg, Germany, and moved to the U.S. in 1992 to study at the University of Pennsylvania. Anton graduated in 1995 and since then has worked in New York and London at Deutsche Bank and Putnam Lovell Securities together with Aaron. Getting ready for business school in January 2002 at INSEAD, outside Paris, France, Anton is currently enjoying his free time by travelling around Europe and the South Pacific.
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Aaron Dorr spent most of his early years growing up and attending school in Middletown, Maryland. Aaron studied finance and German at Loyola College, graduating in 1993. He moved to New York after graduation and lived and worked there until 1999. Aaron is currently thirty and living a bachelor?s existence in London where he is working in investment banking at Putnam Lovell Securities.
As son of the captain, Aaron has sailed aboard Cosmos on several of her longer cruises including trips up and down the eastern seaboard. Aaron has Captained Cosmos each year during vacations with friends in the Florida Keys as well as on the Chesapeake Bay. Since moving to London, Aaron has also sailed in the English Channel and the Mediterranean.
John was a member of the crew from Ft. Lauderdale to the Galapagos Islands. He was born in Mercy Hospital, in Baltimore, Md. in 1965, and has spent most of his life in the Frederick, Md., area where he currently makes his home and works as a housepainter when not traveling the world. John attended the College of Charleston, in South Carolina, and has traveled to the far corners of the globe for a considerable part of his adult life. His travels have included time spent in all the major countries of Europe. He has also traveled to Thailand, Costa Rica, Mexico, South Africa, Morocco, Mozambique, and Hawaii, where he lived for a year working on a pig farm and fishing.
John?s sailing experience includes sailing north with friends, along the coast from Florida. He says he wanted to participate in at least one leg of the circumnavigation for the adventure, and that for him it "represents another mast to climb." He says he is looking forward to meeting the Queen of Tonga (a frequent joke among the crew), and to learning more about sailing. Also hoping for the opportunity to do some surfing during the voyage, John brought his favorite surfboard along. Additionally, he says he looks forward to seeing places he?s only read and dreamed about, as well as doing lots of reading and some writing. John hopes ultimately to sell some magazine articles about the voyage.
The Cosmos Crew at the Bloody Mary's bar in Bora Bora. Seated left to right, Don Kilpatrick, George Hotx, Aaron Dorr, Captain Joe Dorr and Anton von Rotenhan.
Cosmos crew -- John, George and Joe at the IHOP in Ft. Lauderdale.
George and Joe in the Cosmos cabin
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Cosmos crew and wives, Betty and Don Kilpatrick, Joe and Elke Dorr, Kathy and George Hotz