Bio for Lisa Borre

Lisa's 20-year career in environmental management has been devoted to protecting and restoring the health of lakes and wetlands around the world.  With her husband David, she co-founded LakeNet, a world lakes network.   From 1990-1997, she coordinated the Lake Champlain Basin Program in Vermont and facilitated the development of a comprehensive plan which is now considered a model of integrated water resources management.  She has a B.A. in geology from the University of Vermont and a Master's Degree in Environmental Management from Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  She has visited more than 40 countries for work and various travel adventures. 

A native of the Great Lakes Region of the US, Lisa began boating and cruising (in a power boat) with her family at an early age.  She learned to sail in a Laser and took-up windsurfing during summers on Beaver Island , Michigan .  She subsequently took-up sea kayaking, and by the time she met David Barker, her entire fleet of boats -- two sailboards, a classic Penguin sailboat and a kayak -- were all 12' or less.  The couple met while working together in Indonesia in 1996, and they were married in 1998.  At that time, Lisa's cruising experience included a memorable overnight sail on Lake Michigan aboard a family friend's boat as a child, a day sail with a friend on Lake Champlain in Vermont, and two one-week trips chartering with friends in the Caribbean as an adult. 

Lisa and David sailed every chance they could aboard their previous boat, About Time, a 32' shoal-draft Endeavour sloop which they kept on the Chesapeake Bay.  After moving to Annapolis, Maryland from Vermont in 1997, Lisa took her first extended cruise with David: a three-week trip down the Intracoastal Waterway to Beaufort, South Carolina in November which included her first overnight passage on the open ocean.  Even though they had engine trouble while negotiating a harbor entrance, both were hooked on the cruising lifestyle and anxious to resume their sailing adventures the following year when they made the return trip to Annapolis.

The final trip they took aboard About Time was from Annapolis to the five North American Great Lakes.  The latter was a homecoming trip of sorts for Lisa.  She said, "I will never forget how great it felt to sail into St. James Harbor on Beaver Island to attend a family reunion."

David and Lisa's sailing adventures continue as co-owners of Gyatso, a 37' Tayana cutter.  To learn more about their current voyage, browse this website or you can follow us on Facebook: