Story by TMC Editor / April 6, 2021
The Multihull Company is pleased to announce the addition of Conor Dugan to our team in Fort Lauderdale, FL!
Conor was born and raised in a small beach town in New Jersey and began sailing Optimists competitively at a young age. He and his family relocated to Wilmington, North Carolina during his highschool years, where his interest in sailing bloomed into a lifelong passion. In the summer he transferred between schools, Conor’s family sent him on a month-long catamaran sailing excursion from Grenada to St. Lucia with Broadreach Excursions. When he returned, Conor was introduced to the youth sailing coach of Carolina Yacht Club and began sailing out of CYC. He moved through the ranks, from Optis to Lasers and 420s, sailing in regattas up and down the east coast. When his coach took a job at the newly formed Bald Head Island Sailing Club, Conor was asked to come on as an Opti and 420 instructor.
A few years later, BHI Sailing acquired two J80s. These boats were perfect for learning about keelboat handling, and sailing them in the mouth of the notoriously challenging Cape Fear shaped Conor into a highly-skilled coastal sailor. At 18, Conor was invited on the maiden voyage of ‘Blue Whale’, a custom Cape Fear 60, sailing from Wilmington to St. Maarten, his first proper offshore voyage.
That fall, Conor enrolled in UNC Charlotte as a business student. He studied during the school year and sailed during his summers, building miles, eventually earning his Captain’s License. He graduated with Honors from UNC Charlotte in 2013 with a degree in International Studies, that year having served as Student Body President. He is most proud of having led an initiative to make the university’s new football stadium a zero-waste facility, diverting up to 84% of waste from landfills to compost or recycling.
After graduating, Conor moved to the Virgin Islands to pursue a career as a professional captain. He began by operating a 40’ dive boat, earning sea time to upgrade his USCG license, before becoming a full time captain of the then largest day charter catamaran in the Virgin Islands, a 57’ Gold Coast rated for 74 guests. After two years in that role, Conor and his fiance began running week-long term-charters to the BVI aboard a Lagoon 450. After another two years of experience, Conor was looking to continue building sea miles, so he began picking up yacht deliveries wherever he could. One of those deliveries put him on an Outremer 5x with sailing legend Jimmy Cornell. Jimmy was preparing his Elcano Voyage, a circumnavigation aboard a fully-electric Outremer 4x, and was looking for crew to join him. Conor and his fiance were fortunate enough to be selected, and, after spending a year exploring the Australian coastline in a camper van, they flew to France to begin preparations.
Upon arrival in La Grande-Motte, France, Conor received in depth training on the functions and operation of the Oceanvolt electric propulsion and regeneration system, as well as all the features of the Outremer 4x. After weeks of preparation, the crew set off on the epic voyage. After several challenges, including an electrical discharge in Seville that damaged the starboard regeneration system, the crew arrived at Tenerife when Jimmy decided to cancel the voyage and modify the boat to better serve his interests. This change of plans brought Conor back to the States sooner than expected with a new found passion for renewable technologies. He is excited to be an active member of the Ft. Lauderdale sailing community, and is looking forward to seeing how sustainable technology and sailing continue to intersect.
Conor now joins TMC’s growing expert team of agents in South Florida to assist clients with their purchase or sale of their catamaran to fullfill their cruising dreams!
We purchased our lagoon 410 through the multihull company, Andrew Hodgdon was the listing’s broker. From the start till the end of the process he was upfront honest and accommodating. Our situation was unique and required a bit more leg work. Andrew was always easy to get a hold of and willing to help. It was a pleasure working with a highly knowledgeable broker that values integrity. I highly recommend him.
My experience with Andrew Hodgdon was entirely positive during the selling process of our used catamaran.
He followed up at every stage, organized successful showings, and explained in detail the closing process.
I am happy to give a 10 out of 10 review.
We purchased our Balance 442 through TMC, Andrew Hodgdon in the St Augustine office, and the experience was excellent. We had a couple last minute issues like incorrect hull ID on docs, and they quickly ran point to get this all taken care of to help us close on time. It was all especially impressive given that most of this was happening during the end of year holidays. Good team, good follow up. Recommended.
Working with Andrew Hodgdon at The MultiHull Company was a great experience. Andrew has years of experience in the multihull market, especially performence catamarans and was the Technical Director at Balance Catamarans for many years. He’s always available to talk, guide and advise. He’s easy to work with, is extremely knowledgeable, and has a very pleasant way about him. I would highly recommend Andrew to help in your sale or purchase of any multihull.
Working with Will, Andrew Holland and Andrew Hodgdon to sell my Balance 442 was such a pleasure. No one knows multihulls as well as Andrew Hodgdon, especially performance cats like a Balance. As Technical Director of Balance for many years, Andrew knows all of the nuances of that type of boat, as well as the other brands in the category. If you want to sell or buy a catamaran, look no further than Andrew Hodgdon!
Successful relationships cannot exist without it. At The Multihull Company we base every relationship on a firm commitment to earning and retaining our client’s trust.
Advice of any kind is valuable only when grounded in hard-won expertise. It too, must be trustworthy. Trust and expertise define the heart and soul of The Multihull Company. We are a team of skilled professionals who thrive on providing expert, trustworthy advice and service to catamaran and trimaran sailors around the globe.
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