"I feel very lucky to have achieved my long-held dream of sailing solo around the world. I have always been inspired by the following quote from Teddy Roosevelt from his famous "Man in the Arena" speech at the Sorbonne, Paris France, April 23, 1910:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat."
- JOE HARRIS - GryphonSolo2 Skipper
Joe Harris is both a seasoned offshore sailor as well as an experienced commercial real estate executive, having been engaged in both activities for over 30 years. Joe grew up in Greenwich, CT and attended Brown University, graduating with a degree in Political Science (and lacrosse) in 1981. His twenties were spent working as a boat-builder in New England and a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay, Alaska, where his dream of sailing round the world was born. In his late twenties, Joe went back to school to get an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Babson College, graduating in 1989.
Over the next thirty years, on parallel tracks, Joe advanced his career in commercial real estate, offshore sailing and got married and had three kids! In business, Joe worked for the Bank of Boston as a commercial real estate and construction lender, then Raymond Property Company as a developer, then New Boston Fund Inc. as a CFO, then formed his own company called BroadReach Development Group, Inc. to do real estate investment, development and project management.
On the sailing front, Joe advanced from a local club racer on fully crewed boats to an experienced offshore single and double-handed racer, sailing across the Atlantic six times in addition to numerous passages to Bermuda and the Caribbean and distance racing in Europe. In 2015/16, Joe completed a 152-day solo sailing circumnavigation of the world by way of the three Great Capes, including the famed Cape Horn, joining a select group of only 140 sailors that have achieved this goal (www.gryphonsolo2.com).
In 2022, Joe entered and completed the Globe40 around-the-world race, double-handed, with 8 stops (www.globe40.com). Joe and his DH partner Roger Junet finished fourth overall, having spent 173 days at sea and travelling approximately 34,000 miles. Having now sailed round the world twice, Joe joins a small group of +- 150 sailors who have accomplished this feat.
On the family front, Joe has been married to wife Kim for 30 years and has three kids- son Griffin- age 26; son Emmett- age 20 and daughter Sophie Grace- age 17. The Harris clan enjoys all types of team sports, with a particular focus on lacrosse, as well as other outdoor activities such as sailing and skiing.
