Changing Course

This is the story of a lawyer's love of sailing and dream of sailing oceans changed an ordinary life into one filled with unanticipated adventures, challenges, disappointments and accomplishments.

After spending large portions of each work day in a law office, sitting at a desk and shuffling papers for almost thirty years, David had had It. Although, when time permitted, he would pursue his passion for sailing by cruising Biscayne Bay, the Florida Keys and the Abacos, the pressures of practicing law along with the responsibilities that came with being a husband and father to five children had taken their toll. Reading about sailboat voyages to distant places by people not much different than David caused him to begin contemplating the meaning of his life. He began dreaming of crossing oceans and sailing to distant shores. Although he had achieved the type of successes that many strive for, would It now be possible to turn his dreams into reality? If not to cross oceans David wondered, what is life's purpose? Although oceans for some are merely bodies of water, each of us have our own personal oceans to cross. Oceans that change as we proceed through life. Things we need to accomplish to make our lives meaningful. For some It is placing food on the table for our family or a roof over their head. For others, It is seeing the Grand Canyon or climbing Everest or completing a triathlon. For still others It may be owning a certain type of automobile or reaching the pinnacle of their profession. This is the story of David's dreams -- his oceans -- and how they changed an ordinary life into one filled with unanticipated adventures, challenges, disappointments and accomplishments.

David was raised in Woodmere, Long Island and moved to Washington D.C. at the age of nine. As a young boy, he would visit relatives in Hampton, Virginia who lived across the street from the Hampton Yacht Club. It was there that he would watch children racing Optimist Prams in the waters surrounding the club and It was there that he first became interested in sailing. While a student at American University, David was introduced to sailboat racing by a friend and classmate. He began crewing on sailboats that raced on Chesapeake Bay throughout college and while attending law school at the Washington College of Law. After law school, David moved to Bay Harbor Islands, Florida where he founded the law firm Lazan, Trute and Robbins. From 1969 until 1999, David practiced law in Florida. From 1974 until 1976, David served as a municipal Judge for the town of Bay Harbor Islands. For several years after moving to Florida, David continued crewing in sailboat races on Biscayne Bay and from Miami to the Bahamas and Key West. In the mid 1970's, David gave up racing and bought his first cruising sailboat. With his wife and children, David cruised the coast of South Florida and sailed throughout the Bahamas. In 1990, David got his first taste of open ocean sailing when he sailed from Key West to Bermuda aboard Northern Light with Rolf Bjelke and Deborah Shapiro, two highly regarded ocean sailors. This trip was, for him, a defining experience and changed the course of his life and set in motion the events of this book. David retired to the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts in 1999 with the intention of spending his remaining years skiing, hiking, biking and canoeing. After about a year of retirement, finding too much time on his hands and at the urging of his daughter Tracey, he obtained admission to the Massachusetts Bar and began a law practice in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. That practice grew to become the firm of Lazan, Glover and Puciloski. David continued to practice law with his firm until 2020 when he officially retired. He remains of counsel to the firm he founded. David currently lives in Naples, Florida with his wife Judi and Molly, their beloved Tibetan Terrier.