Fred Gamble is a scientist turned sailor, writer, publisher. His first sailing adventures were childhood solo crossings of the pond at the family farm near Dallas, Texas. In 1956, his first trip outside Texas took him to Catalina Island. Thirty years later, Fred returned to settle in Santa Barbara. In 1989 he founded Channel Crossings Press.

During his thirty-year absence from Southern California, he attended Harvard College and Stanford University where he received a bachelors degree and a Ph.D. in chemistry and physics. He subsequently worked in research and engineering in both the electronics and petroleum industries. Fred was a director of the Exxon Corporate Research Laboratory, vice president for technology at Schlumberger, and founding vice president for technology at Superconductor Technologies, Inc.

His love of sailing, of the Santa Barbara Channel, and of the Channel Islands is profound. Since 1987 he has made innumerable passages across the Channel to study the islands, their anchorages, and the wildlife. In 1992 Fred sailed in the Single-Handed TransPac, a 2250-mile solo race from San Francisco to Kauai. He placed third in the Class A boats. His 10-meter sloop "Iris" was one of the few vessels to survive Iniki, the most destructive hurricane to hit the Hawaiian Islands this century.

Magic Wilderness
San Miguel Island California

Fred is currently writing a book about San Miguel Island called "Magic Wilderness" with Peter Crane and contributing editor John Sanger. If you would like to learn more about this exciting book, please read a sample of the first section titled The Island.

Fred's semi-"salty" son John.