Dick's story is an astounding tale of overcoming cancer, sailing 2600 miles to Alaska and finding new direction.
Biography
R. Richard “Dick” Drechsler learned to sail at age 13, the same year he entered the land and resort development industry by working at a summer job. At one point in his earlier years, his interest in politics led him to serve on the national presidential campaign staff of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Until he retired in 2007, Dick operated a resort development company based in Scottsdale, Arizona and was owner/president of a technology company, ResortWiFi. During his long and successful career in the resort industry, Dick and his wife, Sharon, enjoyed sailing their Catalina 36 sailboat in Southern California whenever possible. The onslaught of neck and throat cancer in 2005 greatly reduced Dick’s professional and leisure activities as he underwent an intensive program of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Radiation had so damaged his throat that he is sustained by a strictly liquid diet. The idea of sailing again kept Dick going during the lowest periods of his therapy. Today, a cancer-free survivor, Dick is living out his dream to set forth on the cruising life, currently cruising in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Yet, Dick still vividly remembers how he longed for a day on the water during many dark hours. His dream to offer that opportunity to everyone suffering through cancer was the impetus for the creation of the Sail Through Cancer Foundation. (www.sailthrucancer.org)
Inspiration
The mission is simple and straightforward. The Sail Through Cancer Foundation is an organization dedicated to providing respite and inspiration to those afflicted with cancer. Sail Through Cancer Foundation has at its core the grassroots fulfillment of its mission by a network of volunteer boat owners, skippers, and those involved in the boating community, our "Armada of Hope," that enable the Foundation to provide respite and relief in the form of a day on the water to enrich the human experience. We will also inspire those diagnosed with cancer through stories of recovery and perseverance in beating cancer and leading normal, even exceptional lives, thereafter. Dick is donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of "Manning Up In Alaska" to fund the worthwhile endeavors of the Foundation/
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