Happy 65th Birthday, Seaton Gras!

On this day 65 years ago, Seaton Andrew Ranulf Gras was born. 

Inventor/entrepreneur/environmentalist/surfer/sailor Seaton Gras is the great-great-grandson of John Culbert and Mary Ward. He was born 31 August 1955 in Weston, Massachusetts to Ranulf Worcester "Ranny" Gras and Annette Elizabeth Peters.

At an early age, Seaton sold snacks and pencils to his classmates. This was a sign of an entrepreneurial bent that would flourish later. But first, a six-year adventure was about to begin.

Seaton Gras circumnavigates the globe, age 13.

In 1969, 13-year-old Seaton, his parents Ranny and Ann, his brother Adrian and his sister Robn began a sailing cruise around the world aboard a 60-foot sailboat, the Merry Maiden; a voyage that lasted almost six years. I wrote a short piece about the 50th anniversary of that voyage here.

The Gras family in 1975 after returning home from a trip around the world. Left to right: Ranny, Seaton, Ann, and Adrian.

The Gras family returned home in June, 1975. Seaton considered going to college but his passion for surfing and sailing couldn't keep him tied down in one place. At age 19, he circumnavigated the globe again, leaving port in 1976 on the Merry Maiden, and returning seven years later. He had adventures in Hawaii, the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, South Africa, and the Caribbean. 

Seaton's second round-the-world adventure, age 19 aboard the Merry Maiden in 1976.

One of these days, I hope that Seaton will have time (ha!) to sit down and write his biography for us. In the meantime, here are some of the highlights from Seaton's career:

He created a cruising adventure business as Captain from Salem, Massachusetts to Brisbane, Australia to Seattle, Washington. 

He started a mobile repair business.

He sold alternative energy heat pumps. 

He started a manufacturing facility for solar energy heat pumps.

He created the world's first refrigerant recovery machine.

He received considerable press coverage in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur Magazine. 

Governor Bill Clinton visited him during his first primary campaign for President of the United States.

He created a refrigerant reclamation company, Global Ozone Solutions, Inc. 

He was elected to Who's Who in Business in 1991.

He was a consultant for the United Nations Environmental Protection where he created two country programs.

He built a search engine for kids.

He issued two patents for an innovative system for data access.

He was a Web consultant for startups. 

He started SURF Incubator in March, 2009. SURF provides office space, resources and support for tech-oriented startups. SURF occupies 22,000 square feet (the entire 7th floor) of the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Seattle. 

Seaton on board the Merry Maiden in 2019.

Somehow, during this flurry of creativity, Seaton found time to begin the 20-year restoration of the 1946 wooden ketch, Merry Maiden.

Seaton restoring the Merry Maiden

Seaton restoring the Merry Maiden.

Seaton on board the Merry Maiden in 2019.

I hope that some day, Seaton will elaborate on this biographical sketch for us, and that he'll also write about his equally fascinating parents, Ranny and Ann Gras who in 1953, designed and built Brown's Wood in Lincoln, Massachusetts; a utopian community inspired by B.F. Skinner's book Walden Two. 

FAMILY TREE OF SEATON ANDREW RANULF GRAS:

Ancestors:

John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-great-grandparents)

Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (great-grandparents)

Ethel Gertrude Culbert & Norman Scott Brien Gras (grandparents)

Ranulf Worcester Gras & Annette Elizabeth Peters (parents)

Descendants (Children):

Tiare Elizabeth Gras

50th Anniversary of the Voyage of the Merry Maiden

Fifty years ago today, the Merry Maiden set sail for a voyage around the world.

The Gras family in 1975 after returning home from a trip around the world. Left to right: Ranny, Seaton, Ann, and Adrian.

Ranulf Worcester "Ranny" Gras (1917-1994) was an engineer employed with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), working on NASA and Apollo space programs. Wanting to spend more time with his family, he proposed they travel the world on board their 60-foot yacht, the Merry Maiden.

On October 26, 1969 the Gras family set sail from Salem, Massachusetts. The voyage lasted six years. They returned home in 1975.

The Merry Maiden

Along with Ranny were his wife, Annette "Ann" (Peters) Gras; their daughter, Robn Gras who you met previously in this post; and their two youngest sons, Seaton Gras and Adrian Gras.

Only four of the five members of the family returned home. Don't worry - nobody was lost overboard. While they were travelling in the South Pacific, Robn met a German sailor in Pago Pago. She left the crew and married Gerhard Diekow. 

There's much more to tell but we'll have to wait while one of Ranny's sons writes a biographical piece about his father for us. When it's ready, I'll be sure to post it on the Culbert Family History blog. 

Left to right: Adrian, Seaton, Ranny and Ann

Ranulf Worcester "Ranny" Gras' Family Tree:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (grandparents)
Ethel Gertrude Culbert & Norman Scott Brien Gras (parents)
Descendants (Children):
Gerald Scott Gras
Robn (Gras) Diekow
Adrian Duncan Gras
Seaton Andrew Ranulf Gras