Our guest speaker this week was Captain Michael Lawler. Born in Newport Beach, he started racing sabots when he was 8 years old. He was a member of the USC Sailing Team and raced in over a dozen Newport To Ensenada Races and sailed in the ’03, ’05 and ’07 Transpacs (Los Angeles Harbor to Hawaii). He also holds a United States Coast Guard 100-ton Captain’s License.
When he is not cruising around the world, he makes his living as an estate planning attorney in Newport Beach, and is the past president of the Orange County Bar Association’s Trust and Estates Section. He also served as President Reagan’s Finance Director for the Inaugural Ball Committee.
Off the water, he also has a Private Pilot’s License, ran the New York City Marathon, has climbed the Matterhorn in Switzerland, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. He is also a three-time past president of the South Coast Metro Rotary Club.
This past summer he completed a three-year circumnavigation of the world, departing from Newport Harbor on his own sailboat, “Traveler.” The Voyage of Traveler took him and his crew to 61 countries on six continents, cruising 31,145 nautical miles.
Michael showed a video of the trip which recounted rescuing the crew of a fishing boat, a brush with pirates and even becoming the King of an island in the South Pacific. As king, he knighted Rick Topping as his nation's Chief Inspector.
He also presented Mody with a whale tooth (for virility and to aid in attracting women).
Did somebody yell “100% testosterone”?
