Claiborne Young Passes

[Captain Bill]

I didn't see anything on the forum bout this so I decided to post. Claiborne Young of Salty Southeast Cruisers net and author of many cruising guides to the east and gulf coasts of the Us has died as a result of injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. My condolences to his family and friends on their loss. He will be missed by a lot of us who cruise the east coast. His death has been reported on SSECN and Oriental's Towndock.net.

[RKsailsolo]

Sad news and a senseless loss of life, in a traffic accident.

As I move closer to living the dream, I will take more time to consider the safety aspects and personal responsibility of navigating our streets and highways on foot, on a bike, and in a vehicle. I think that most of us are lulled into a false sense of security about being in traffic and not as conscious as we should be about basic physical laws of mass x momentum and the skill levels of all kinds of people to control their vehicles under constantly changing conditions.

[cheoah]

That is really tough news! Sorry to hear that, I really like that guy. For many SE cruisers, his words accompanied or guided many adventure.

My sincere condolences to his family on an untimely crossing of the bar.

Thanks for posting

[FSMike]

He will be missed.
The SSECN (cruisersnet.net) was a great source of current information for the ICW and environs. Hopefully it will continue as before.

[Tingum]

That is sad news. I met Claiborne in the 80's when we re powered his boat. He was a perfect example of a southern gentleman!

[Trekker]

Claiborne and I go back to the formative days of the Salty Southeast Net. We met several times in Oriental to discuss format, software limitations and affordability, information sources, and the like. His aim was to provide current and relevant information to ICW cruisers, a free resource that would be updated by its users with a minimum of editorial changes; information for cruisers, by cruisers, in a real time format that was immediately usable. Through several iterations, software upgrades and personal struggles, Claiborne always held to his basic premise of providing a rock solid information resource to the boating public, the scope of which covered everything from knot tying to political action. That Claiborne was an experienced and capable cruiser himself lent credibility to his valuable contribution to his fellow boaters. Through all of this Claiborne's character, integrity and endearing personality was apparent. His pleasant demeanor, sense of humor and ability to communicate showed through to all who met him. He will be sorely missed but leaves a wealth of good memories with those in the cruising community.

Fair winds and Godspeed, Claiborne Young, our good friend. We wish you calm anchorages, beautiful sunsets, the fellowship of your friends, and peace.

[gettinthere]

RIP. He was a class act. Very sad news.

[Svdestiny]

Very very sad, he will be missed

[itchybro]

As a dirt dweller with a dream, I stumbled across this. Sorry I missed this guy.

Claiborne Young is THE expert on the Inland Coastal Waterway | Outdoors | NewsObserver.com

[Hudson Force]

'sorry to hear this sad news. I never met Claiborne Young, but I read and admired his work.

[janice142]

Definitely bad news for the cruising community on the east and Gulf coasts. I suspect many of us have read and own his many books. His wisdom will be missed by me.

RIP Cap'n.

[Waterway Guide]

Claiborne was an inspiration to Jan & me when we started our cruising life, as he was for countless others. I truly enjoyed his company and conversation the oh too few times I had the opportunity. He cared passionately about cruising and fellow cruisers, and he was a true gentleman. He will be sorely missed by this community. Bon voyage, my friend.

[AnchorageGuy]

I have finally found myself able to respond to Claiborne's passing. He was a good friend to us for many years and a good friend to the boating community as well. We spoke on the phone a few days before the accident and emailed each other the day before. We talked about how excited he was about his new boat and the opportunity to get out cruising again. There are very few in boating that have not benefited from the information and wisdom Claiborne has provided over the years. There is no one else that has given so much to our community and ask nothing in return. We never heard Claiborne say an unkind word about anyone and his happy personality was infectious. It is indeed a sad day and we will all miss his smiling face. Fair winds.

[Auspicious]

Claiborne's passing is indeed a sad event. I like to think that Claiborne is back with his wife Karen who passed recently.

[Boatguy30]

Does anyone have any details on the accident? Helmet or not?

A great racing sailor also died in Newport, RI a few weeks ago from an "off the water head injury" details were scant.

Just as we wear harnesses offshore and carry flares and liferafts, I always wear a helmet on 2 wheels.