Dan Mackin

In 1969, in the Navy, he was deployed to the coast of North Vietnam on the Guided Missile Cruiser Long Beach, the world's first nuclear powered surface ship and the first to shoot down enemy aircraft with a surface to air missiles. After the 10-month tour, he returned to California and in 1971 received an honorable discharge. 

Dan and his friend since preschool, Jeff, bought a 24-foot sloop with two surfboards, a compass and no motor. They sailed 2,700 miles down the West Coast of Mexico and Central America. Afterwards, Mackin, a fluent Spanish speaker, attended La Universidad De Las Americas, in Cholula, Mexico, 70 miles southeast of Mexico City. He earned a B.A. in Creative Writing and an M.A in intercultural Education. 

From 1976 to 1981 he taught at Cal State Fullerton, instructing teachers studying for their master's degree in Bilingual Education. He lived on a 40-foot wooden sloop in Marina Del Rey. After teaching, he went into the entertainment industry selling time on a satellite transponder for the TV and movie industry to preview new programs and movies. 

In 1983, he moved to San Francisco and worked in the advertising industry while living on a 44-foot sailboat at Pier 39, still painting in the evenings. 

Finally, in 1988, he pursued his true passion as a full-time seascape painter, exhibiting his works in Hawaii, California. In 1994, he moved to Hobe Sound, Florida. Some of his publishers are Winn-Devon, Leanin' Tree, Cuppa, Currents and the largest calendar publishing company in Japan, Todan