Sailor
"Freedom is one of the fringe benefits of boat ownership, along with the autonomy that a skipper and crew assume once they've cast the docklines free. But this freedom comes with an inherent price tag that can be paid for with personal responsibility and crew competency. We view seamanship as the currency to cover the transaction..." - Ralph Naranjo
Dr. Derrick L. Cogburn is Captain and Skipper of the private sailing vessel Transcend and the express cruiser Makai. SV Transcend is a sloop rigged, fin keel, 1986 Hunter Legend 40 sailboat, with an inboard auxiliary diesel engine. MV Makai, a Sea Ray 280 Sundancer express cruiser. Captain Cogburn's 1st Mate is Dr. Noemí Enchautegui-de-Jesus, and his Bosun is Sean Manuel Cogburn-Enchautegui. SV Transcend is right at home in her berth in Annapolis, Maryland on the doorstep of the magnificent Chesapeake Bay. Derrick and Noemi are Family Resident members of the Seafarers Yacht Club of Annapolis (SYC) where Derrick serves as Vice Commodore. Dr. Cogburn also serves on the Board of the Seafarers Foundation. Derrick also serves on the Board of Governors of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Clubs Association (CBYCA). Derrick and Noemi were members of the Universal Sailing Club (USC). Derrick is a certified volunteer with with the Chesapeake Regional Accessible Boating (CRAB) community. Serving as remote crew for sv Transcend are Dr. Courtney D. Cogburn, Idris Oladipo, and Idara Xavier from New York City; along with Luis Manuel Enchautegui, and his girls; from Chicago, we have Kimberly and Scott Goffinet, along with Conrad (in Cambridge) and Carson Goffinet; and from New Jersey, Samuel Enchautegui and Josselyn Rosario, along with Yazel and Yadiel Enchautegui. From Los Angeles, remote crew include Toy Marshall, with lots of remote crew in Oklahoma, especially in Arcadia! Derrick and Noemí's primary formal sailing training was at the Annapolis Sailing School, in a Rainbow 24 keelboat. Previously, the Cogburn's owned, sv Arcadia, named in honor of Derrick's hometown of Arcadia, Oklahoma (although I was born in Oklahoma City, I was raised in Arcadia!). SV Arcadia was a 1980 Paceship Yachts PY26, a sloop rigged, shoal draft keel, sailboat, with inboard auxiliary diesel power.
Derrick and Noemí have long dreamed of sailing and a life on the water, and are delighted it has come to fruition. Their boating journey together started in Ann Arbor, Michigan where they took a trip in 2004 to the small town of Saugatuck-Douglas. They were both enamored with the marina there and walked up and down observing the boats and wondering what the cruising life would be like, including through the Great Lakes and Erie Canal. On that trip, they visited a used book store and Noemi bought Derrick his first Chapman.
While Derrick had already taken several sailing lessons on small Sunfish and Hobicats in the Caribbean (Punta Cana and Puerto Rico), the first major step in their sailing journey started in Annapolis, Maryland. Noemí organized a cruise on the Schooner Woodwind. For those who know the Woodwind team, they allow passengers to take on as many crew duties as they would like during the sail. Derrick took advantage of this opportunity, hoisting the massive mainsail, helping to trim the sails, and serving as much time on the helm as he could. He was hooked!
Their next step was to get more formal training. They studied at the Annapolis Sailing School and both completed the 102 Learn to Sail in a Weekend basic keelboat course on Rainbow 24 keelboats, including both classroom training and four on the water sails. Afterwards, they chartered 24’ Rainbow keelboats from the Annapolis Sailing School, and went out on short day sails with friends on a Seidelman 30, and a Morgan 38. While this gave them both more experience, especially Derrick, it wasn’t enough for either of them. Derrick wanted more exposure to auxiliary engines, roller furling sails, genoas, spinnakers, wheel steering, galleys, marine heads, berths, and to overnight coastal cruising. These desires led them to make their first boat purchase.
In August 2015, Derrick and Noemí purchased their first boat, and after proper decommissioning, commissioned her as sailing vessel Arcadia. Derrick worked with USC Commodore Marcus Asante for the shakedown and delivery sail from Chesapeake City to their slip at WhiteRocks Marina in Pasadena, Maryland. Captain Derrick and his crew gained tremendous experience, single handing and sailing with friends and family, especially after moving Arcadia to a new marina in Annapolis, Maryland on the peninsula of Eastport. In Summer 2017, the Cogburn's purchased their second boat, re-commissioned as sailing vessel Transcend, delivering her to Annapolis themselves. The same summer, Arcadia was sold to a wonderful new owner in Baltimore, thanks to Curtis Stokes Yacht Brokerage.
SV Transcend is a 1986 Hunter Legend 40. She is a sloop rigged sailboat, with an inboard diesel auxiliary engine. Her LOA is 39’8” (LWL 32’6”). She has a fin keel drawing 6’1”, with total displacement of 17,400 lbs, with 7,900 lbs of ballast in the keel. Total sail area is 787 sq.ft. (I 53'9"; J 17'0"; P 48’0"; E 13’9"). Her vertical draw (the mast) is 58'6"', with a current sail plan is a mainsail, and 150 roller furling genoa. The auxiliary engine is a Yanmar 2GM 1300 HP (3400 rpm) diesel. Down below, she has 6’6” standing headroom, a beam of 13’5”, seven berths, two marine heads, galley (LPG stove, refrigerator, and icebox). Communications and electronics includes fixed and portable VHF radios, depth finder, compass, shore power (single 30 amp) and required navigation lighting. Additional features include, Danforth anchor, spinnaker pole.
In contrast, SV Arcadia was a 1980 Paceship Yachts PY26. She is a sloop rigged sailboat, with an inboard diesel auxiliary engine. Her LOA is 26’4” (LWL 22’6”). She has a shoal-draft keel drawing 2’7”, with an additional centerboard, drawing 6’7” with the board down. Total displacement is 6,000 lbs, with 2,200 lbs of ballast in the keel. Total sail area is 336.9 sq.ft. (I 34.0’; J 11.85’; P 28.5’; E 9.5’). Her vertical draw (the mast) is 34', with a current sail plan is a mainsail, and 150 roller furling genoa. The auxiliary engine is a Yanmar 2GM 1300 HP (3400 rpm) diesel. Down below, she has 6’1” standing headroom, a beam of 9’6”, five berths, marine head, galley (Origo 4000 alcohol stove and icebox). Communications and electronics includes fixed and portable VHF radios, depth finder, compass, shore power (single 30 amp) and required navigation lighting. Additional features include, Danforth anchor, spinnaker pole.
Derrick and Noemi also own MV Makai, a 2007 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer express cruiser. As their first foray into powerboating, Makai has been a tremendous joy to learn and pilot. While a substantial difference from sailing, a motor vessel provides far greater mobility to cruise up and down the Chesapeake Bay in shorter periods of time, giving us the opportunity to explore more of this beautiful natural resource.
Derrick and Noemí's immediate plans are to continue getting as much coastal cruising experience as possible, sailing with the Seafarers Yacht Club of Annapolis, the Universal Sailing Club, and participating actively with the Chesapeake Regional Accessible Boating community and racing program. Derrick is also serving as crew on sv Odyssey, also berthed in Annapolis. With Odyssey, Derrick was able to get his first blue water experience, sailing from Annapolis to Boston in August 2016. He was interviewed about this experience on Episode 54 of the Shooting the Breeze Sailing Podcast. Other intermediate stretch goals include gaining experience with nighttime sailing, longer coastal cruises, low-pressure racing, and joining a local rally or two. As a captain, Derrick would like to complete the DelMarVa before planning anything more ambitious, but is definitely open to crewing on more ambitious passages.