About the Author:
Geoffrey M. Footner

Geoffrey Footner considers himself a realist though many others tend to peg him as a fusion of contradictions as he moved from one career to another in a relatively seamless manner. After service as a junior naval officer in the Pacific and European theaters during WW2, Footner founded, with a partner, a shipping company that grew into several divisions, making it necessary for him to travel to Europe and Africa for many years. Burned out in his 40s, he turned to viticulture to restore his connection to mother earth and admits today that the fulfillment of an intense love affair with his vineyards led him into still another career, one totally suitable for the last third of a life - researching and writing the maritime history of the Chesapeake Bay and of the shipbuilders of the distinctively different sailing craft designs born on the Bay. Though tending grapes and making wine is labor intensive over most of twelve months, Footner used his free intervals to sail the Chesapeake and most of its rivers; then, during the long dark nights on the farm waiting for the sugar to rise, he researched maritime history. As a result of these studies he discovered that though there are many books about the Chesapeake Bay on library shelves, there existed a dearth of historical treatise grounded in archival research. This niche provided him with the course he eagerly follows.