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EnglishWhat Is Bill and Mary's Website (williamfinkelstein.com)?
Updated
williamfinkelstein.com is the personal website of Bill Finkelstein and Mary Mack. It is not a commercial service, booking platform, or product site. The homepage is a short travel memoir: it recounts the couple's sailing years and later land and cruise travel, and it points visitors to curated photos on Flickr and to an older legacy site. If you are looking for practical cruising guides, bookings, or current trip planning services, this site does not offer them. If you want a first-person record of a long sailing retirement and a pointer to their photo archive, it is worth a look.
What the site contains
The homepage is a single narrative page. According to the site text, the couple met on a SCUBA diving trip to Belize in 1992. After Mary retired in 2000 and Bill in 2004, they sailed their Valiant 50, "Raptor Dance," out the Golden Gate four days after Bill's retirement. The page describes:
- A season cruising Mexico, then a year cruising British Columbia and Washington.
- A return to Mexico for more than five years along the Pacific Coast, from the Sea of Cortés down to Zihuatanejo.
- A return to San Francisco Bay in late 2010, with over 25,000 miles logged in just under 7 years.
- Later land and cruise travel, primarily on Celebrity and Oceania, for up to 7 months a year.
- A current phase of being home with only occasional trips.
The page also notes that Bill was named the "2024 Tiger of the Year" at the Chaffey High School Alumni Association's 2024 Alumni of the Year award ceremony, and that his presentation from that event can be viewed.
Where the photos and older material are
The site directs visitors to two external resources:
| Resource | What it is | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Flickr (flickr.com/photos/mack-finkelstein) | Curated photos | The site describes these as selected photos; browsing happens on Flickr, not on williamfinkelstein.com |
| pre-2009.williamfinkelstein.com | Legacy website from before 2009 | The site itself warns of broken links and low-resolution photos from their first digital camera in 1999, plus pre-smartphone-era videos. It also states the legacy site is not SSL protected |
The SSL warning matters in practice: the legacy link uses plain http, so avoid entering any personal information there, and treat it as an archive to browse rather than a secure service.
How to use the site
There is no account, login, or search function described. The practical path is:
- Open williamfinkelstein.com and read the homepage narrative for the sailing and travel timeline.
- Follow the Flickr link if you want the curated photo collection.
- Open the pre-2009 link only if you want the older archive and accept broken links, low-resolution images, and the lack of SSL protection.
Expected result: a short read plus optional photo browsing. There is no booking step, no contact form described on the page, and no indication of services for sale.
What it is not
The page evidence shows no pricing, no payment platforms, and no commercial offerings. Do not treat the site as a charter broker, a cruising guide publisher, or a travel agency. The cruise lines mentioned (Celebrity and Oceania) appear only as the couple's personal travel preferences, not as endorsements or affiliate offerings.
Who it suits
- Readers interested in a real-world example of a long sailing retirement and the cruising route from San Francisco to Mexico and the Pacific Northwest.
- People who want to see the couple's curated photos via Flickr.
- Anyone researching the couple's background, such as for the alumni award context.
It is less useful if you need current cruising information, equipment reviews, or trip planning help, since the site presents a personal history rather than up-to-date guidance.