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Todd Vorenkamp

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Todd Vorenkamp is a proposal writer and editor for Valiant Integrated Systems. He is a former Senior Creative Content Writer for the B&H Photo blog, Explora, where he wrote educational articles about photography and optics as well as product reviews, Op-ed pieces, and feature articles. Since 2017, Todd has worked as an Adjunct Instructor of Photography at Dakota College in Bottineau, North Dakota teaching the full curriculum of photography classes. He engages in freelance work as a photography workshop instructor, professional photographer specializing in commercial architectural assignments and environmental portraiture, writer for aviation and maritime magazines, and has worked as a sailing instructor for both adults and children. Todd has a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from the Academy of Art University and his photographs have appeared in books and magazines. Todd is also a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and is a former naval aviator who has served as an aircraft commander in the Boeing H-46, Sikorsky H-3 and H-60, and Eurocopter H-65 helicopters. He has raced sailboats and sailed across the globe on commercial containerships as a licensed merchant marine officer—holding a 3rd mate unlimited tonnage ocean license. Todd is the author of “A Is for Aperture: The ABC’s of Photography.” He is the former editor-in-chief of Rotor Review, the Naval Helicopter Association’s quarterly publication and "Hear This," the USMMA midshipman newspaper. His writing was featured in the anthology “Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families,” published by Random House and the National Endowment for the Arts. Todd has written over 100 print-published articles and hundreds more for online publications.

This “Bulletproof” Cruiser Has a Serious Weak Spot Caliber 40 LRC...

If you’re shopping for a serious cruising sailboat, the Caliber 40 LRC is often described as “bulletproof.” Heavy displacement, huge tankage, conservative construction, and...

Latest Sailboat Review

Union 36 Used Boat Review

While not the best boat for light-air sailing, the Union 36 is a good sailboat for the bluewater cruiser. It wont get you there fast, but it will get you there comfortably and in one piece. The boats teak decks and lavish use of interior wood is attractive but requires much upkeep and maintenance. A product of the Taiwan-U.S. boatbuilding industry, the Union 36 is a heavy-displacement, full-keel, cutter-rigged double-ender designed for ocean sailing. The Union 36 is nearly identical to several other boats built during the same period: the Hans Christian 36, Mariner Polaris 36, and the EO36. According to well-known naval architect Bob Perry, the Union 36 and its cousins are all based on the design of a 34-footer that Perry was commissioned to create back in the early 70s.