![]() “Andy didn’t like wearing sport coats and ties,” Sperry said. He also honors Macdonald in his day-to-day business life, like in his approach to business culture. Reflecting on his years-long relationship with Macdonald, Sperry said he cherishes the simple times, like sitting with Macdonald in his kitchen, drinking a beer, and just talking together. “He was never around to see what a special day this is and what an accomplishment this is by the men and women of the shipyard, the vendors and all the bits and pieces that go into making this thing what it is today,” said Sperry, speaking at the February 10 christening for the mv. We had to grind his name off,” Sperry said.Īnd so, still grieving the loss of his close friend and mentor, Sperry, along with the team at Maritime Partners, decided to name its latest new-build towboat from Steiner Construction in Bayou La Batre, Ala., after Macdonald. Sperry said Maritime Partners planned to name a boat after Macdonald several years ago, but the vessel charterer at that time instead opted for a name of their choosing. ![]() He is survived by his wife, Karen three children, Collin, Jory and Rachel and their spouses and children. He was on the way to the airport to go sailing in Miami, pulled over, and unfortunately had a heart attack and passed away.” Instead, it was one of my sailing buddies from Miami, who asked if I was sitting down and that Andy Mac had just passed away. “I got a call about 6 a.m., and I thought it was going to be the press or somebody calling about the deal we closed just the day before. “I woke up that morning feeling like we could take on the world,” Sperry said. Tragically, Macdonald died of a heart attack the next morning. “He said he was really proud of us, and that was the last time I heard from Andy or had any communication with him.” “He sent Bick and me a text after we closed the deal,” Sperry said. Macdonald was also one of the first people who reached out to Sperry on November 30, 2022, after Maritime Partners successfully acquired the fleet of the late J. In those early days, Sperry said, Macdonald “helped us push forward when, maybe, we didn’t believe.” Sperry said, in those early days, Macdonald would conclude his emails to Sperry and Brooks with “We Will Win.” Macdonald was the attorney who handled the legal side of Maritime Partners’ first towboat lease, which famously brought in $40 a day. “He really was a key part.” Max Macias and Austin Sperry christen the mv. ![]() “Andy came on as our first attorney,” Sperry said. Sperry arranged for Macdonald to fly up to New York City to meet with Brooks for an hour to discuss the venture. We didn’t win the Olympic trials, unfortunately, but it was a great experience.”įast forward to 2015, when Sperry and Brooks were preparing to launch Maritime Partners. “When we were sailing, I’m asking him business questions and he’s asking me sailing questions,” Sperry recalled. Sperry and Macdonald teamed up to train for the 2004 Olympic trials, but their time under sail was much more than that. Sperry described Macdonald, better known as Andy Mac, as one of the smartest and most successful people he’s ever met, someone who “always saw the bigger picture.” “It’s like a fraternity.”Īnd in the course of competing in the Star Class fleet, Sperry met another premier sailor who would become a lifelong friend and mentor: Andy Macdonald, an accomplished attorney. “When you race around the country and the world, you form a pretty tight bond with those other competitors,” Sperry said. It was more than a decade before he would team up with Bick Brooks to start the company that now has a fleet of close to 2,000 inland towboats and barges on long-term charter.Īt that time, though, Sperry was pursuing a different dream: the 2004 summer Olympics, and meeting people along the way. In the early 2000s, Austin Sperry, co-founder and president of Metairie, La.-based Maritime Partners LLC, was sailing competitively on the Star Class sailing circuit.
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