Stars & Stripes at the dry dock. Photo by Sam Markos

The Stars & Stripes sailed out of Apra Harbor during the early morning hours of June 17, 2003, on its first voyage since US Marshals seized it from its former owner and put up for auction in May 2001. The Hong Kong Bank stepped in and bought the boat in attempt to recoup their losses then put the boat up for auction. The Bank initially rejected all offers in the bid, including Sam Markos’, so Markos proceeded in bidding for and acquiring the M-V Challenger, a 68-foot live aboard diving/fishing boat form the CNMI Government. Then in November 2002, approximately nine months later, the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Markos and asked him if he was still interested in purchasing the cruiser. Negotiations started up again and today the Stars & Stripes is in Saipan where she will undergo a complete refurbishing and United States Coast Guard mandated security inspection before she can raise her sails and embark on an aggressive marketing campaign to provide tourism related services throughout the Mariana Islands.

Captain Paul Lee, a 40-year-naval veteran was at the helm when the Stars & Stripes pulled away from the dock at Cabras on Tuesday morning at exactly 4:11 a.m. Lee demonstrated his skills with the ease of pulling the 72 x 40 foot Catamaran away from the dock and though relatively calm waters of Apra Harbor guided only by the red and green buoy lights at the mouth.

Owner Markos made it up to the helm shortly after the boat exited the harbor and began its voyage to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Markos is a local businessman and owner of Cars Unlimited on Guam and Saipan. He is preparing to bringing down the Challenger to Guam sometime next week to complete the U. S. Coast Guard Inspection.

The Stars & Stripes traveled more or less between 9-11 knots per hour reaching the buoys at the mouth of the harbor at approximately 4:35 a.m. She was straight out from the Piti power plant at 5:10 a.m. and before she was parallel to Ritidan Point encountered a pod of pilot whales numbering about 5-7 adults.

There were nine souls on the boat's first voyage. The crew included; Captain Paul Lee, Captain Steve (OB) Oberheim, Head Mechanic Linus Choffat & Owner Sam Markos. There were also five guests on board; Bob & Victoria Danziel owners of Uncle Bob’s Bar and Grill in Sumay, Paul Freeman Lee Jr., Misue Toyota and this writer.

The Stars & Stripes is a 72 x 40 foot catamaran, aluminum hull motor sailer weighing 95 tons, commissioned in 1988. Captain Lee said, “She’s equipped with twin Caterpillar diesel engines and two large generators. She’s a party boat built for the open ocean and can be powered by sails or engines.”

Sam Markos described his long time interest in the Stars & Stripes admitting a long admiration for the boat. “I used to watch her sail in and out of the harbor and admired her each time she sailed past. She’s a beautiful boat especially with her sails open. She’s a party boat and we are going to keep her name - Stars & Stripes - and will replace her main sail with a large replica of the U. S. flag,  similar to what she had before, but we are looking for a complimentary design for her head sail - possibly a very large eagle that can be seen several miles away.”

With the economy at what many consider the worst it’s been in Guam in a very long time, Markos recognizes he’s taking a very big chance in purchasing the dinner cruiser but hopes that doing so will help to revive the market. Jobs are created by entrepreneurs not by government and Markos feels, as one, "its our responsibility to revive Guam's economy." It’s an attitude only investors can achieve.

Hard times sometimes provide great opportunities to make large investments. For Markos, that opportunity struck and he purchase the Stars & Stripes - fulfilling a long-time dream of owning the boat.

“There are other tourist related services that we will explore to determine the better marketing advantages and dinner cruises may be one of them, but we aren’t committing to that at this point,” Markos said.

Markos characterizes his investment in the Stars & Stripes as, “A fair price,” but admits the purchase is the least of the expenses associated with refurbishment of the boat. He expects that by the time the boat is restored to the condition he wants it to be, “It’s likely my investment will reach close to half a million dollars,” he said and stressed, “Buying it is the least expense in the whole process.”

“It’s always about what more you put into your investment that determines what you paid for it,” said Markos, who describes his financial wealth as, “comfortable.”

"Acquisition is just the beginning, what you put into the product determines your true expenses unless you don’t improve upon your investments. I do the same thing with my cars,” he said. Sam Markos buys used cars and refurbishes them for rental at Cars Unlimited. For Markos, buying something is just the beginning, he said, "You don’t just buy something and that’s the end of that.”

The exact purchase price of the Stars & Stripes is confidential, but Markos admits its replacement value today is $1.5 million dollars.

“It’ll cost about $1.5M for a new boat like the Stars & Stripes today,” he said.