Peter, Kirsten, and Alden are a family hailing from Seattle, Washington where they lived and worked for the last ten years.  We moved aboard the S/V Charlotte in August of 2007 to explore the cruising life for a few years.

Peter McGonagle grew up sailing in Rhode Island.  Kirsten Wolff grew up; well all over the place; as an "army brat", completing high school in Northern Virginia.  Pete and Kirsten met in 1983 at Kings Point, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy where they both attended college.  Pete went on to work as an engineer and deck officer on merchant ships for thirteen years while Kirsten persued a medical career.  Pete is a U.S. Coast Guard unlimited master and Kirsten is an OB/GYN doctor.  Moving to Seattle in 1997, they settled down to practice and work.

Kirsten practiced obstetrics and gynecology at Swedish hospital while Pete worked as a yacht broker.  In 2002 Pete started Swiftsure Yachts with two partners.  In 2002 we were also blessed with the birth of Peter "Alden" McGonagle.  After ten years in the big city, we felt it was a good time to take a breather and expose Alden to other parts of the world.  Combining our love for travel and boats we purchased Charlotte in January of 2007.