Deborah Hammett grew up in Katonah, NY and received her bachelor's degree in elementary education at Western Connecticut State University. She moved to Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard in 1986 when she began her career as a teacher. She commuted off-island for graduate school and received her MEd. in school leadership from Salem State University. Within her thirty-three years as an educator, she taught at several grade levels and became a school principal. She has two grown daughters, Rilla and Emily. She now lives everywhere aboard her boat, Mavia.
""Inspiring and empowering, this book is a call to reimagine your next chapter, with lessons in resilience, adventure, and the transformative power of going all in. Whether you're a dreamer or a doer, it will spark your imagination and leave you ready to create a life less ordinary, afloat or otherwise."" Andrew Parkinson Editor-in-Chief, Cruising World ""Deborah Hamett's tale of learning to sail at sixty and then sailing solo aboard her 36-foot sloop from New England to Georgetown in the Exumas, Bahamas, is inspirational. Along the way, she mastered all the skills cruising sailors need, met a host of characters both good and bad, confronted her fears, and embraced the joys of the cruising life. She sailed home younger, stronger, and more confident than when she left. If you harbor the cruising dream, you should read Young Salt at Sixty."" George Day Publisher Blue Water Sailing