More months ago than I prefer to admit, I received a rare request for a profile from Andrew Hurst at Seahorse Magazine:
“I know we are behind publishing your material, but one day would you consider a profile of Steve Clark. Aside from being a hero, a distant friend and a sailing genius he has changed the sport in his own occasionally!! humble way—and raised a great son Dave in his own innovative image.”

It took me over a year to follow up on this suggestion, but once I interviewed Steve (on a shivery and short afternoon last December), I couldn’t wait to connect his stories about a life at the bleeding edge of the marine industry into something resembling a profile. I soon realized there were too many stories for one issue, so I suggested it be divided over two (like they did for Bill Mattison and Peter Harken). Andrew quickly agreed, adding: “Only two parts . . . you can’t have spoken for long.” Clearly he understood how many words Steve could pack into a few hours of conversation.
When I saw Joe Berkeley’s distinctive portrait of Steve on the cover of the June 2025 issue, I eagerly paged through to find a surprise: they’d somehow shoe-horned all of my words onto six pages. And since there’s much more inside that issue than what they are now calling my “exhausting but fascinating visit to the rocket-man in the woods,” I encourage you to subscribe.
Got a suggestion for a future profile, or a memory of Steve? Share it in the comments below, or send me an email. I read every single one, with gratitude. Thanks for being here!
Read Steve Clark
Previous Seahorse Profiles
Paul Callahan: Maximizing His Unique Potential
Giving Paul Bieker Some Seahorse Love
Betsy Alison: Using All the Tools
Jerry Kirby: All the Stories are True
Peter Harken: What an Amazing Guy
Buddy Melges: He Really Was a Wizard
Toppa Talks: One Job, One (Big) Dream
Circus Minimus: The Rich Life of Bill Mattison
Mark Reynolds: Hard Chines and Unasked Questions
Dawn Riley: Setting the Standard
Clicks of Chance: Onne van der Wal
Just Say Yes: Stan and Sally Honey
Rod Davis: Why You Need His Wisdom in 2021
Rod Johnstone: An Amazing Legacy of Yacht Designs
A Final Conversation with Harry Anderson