Al Golden

Al Golden was born January 31, 1940 in Baltimore, Maryland.  When he reached the age of three his parents bought a summer place on the Severn River, and that’s where he spent his summers until he was nineteen.

His Dad always had some kind of small boat, both power and sail, and as he grew he spent more and more time on the water.  As a teenager he’d pack his Old Town Knockabout (a 14' lapstrake sloop) with camping gear and food and take off on sailing/camping trips around the northern Chesapeake .

Wisp of Dawn, a Seafarer 48', was purchased in May `76, and a year later was ready for the Golden’s shakedown cruise to Bermuda and back.  Those two passages were idyllic and the family, with the addition of Popeye their steering vane, felt ready to take on The Voyage.  In June 1978 they departed Baltimore bound for Bermuda , the first stop on their adventure. During the next two years they visited 105 ports in 15 countries, and sailed about 15,000 miles.

On their return to the US , in June 1980, Al entered a local licensing course for property & casualty insurance, and received his license in the spring of 1981.  Part of the rationale for entering that business was to do what he could to make insurance a viable proposition for voyagers.  He specialized in marine insurance at the agency he started with for six years then, in 1987, started his own office, International Marine Insurance Services.

In 2003, in cooperation with a major US company, he established the Jackline Program which is an insurance program for world cruisers. And, finally, the ultimate expression of his passion to find a US carrier willing to step up to the plate and give voyagers the needed coverage.