Jeff Milbrath
For the Logos

While many will struggle to get out of bed in the morning during the upcoming cold winter months to walk across the frozen NIACC campus in below zero temperatures, part-time instructor Richard Schinnow will be up applying sun screen to his body and preparing to work on his tan.

When the snow starts to fall, Schinnow starts to sail.

Every year for the last four, Schinnow has been sailing to the Bahamas and the Florida Keys during the second semester of school.

There he lives on his 35-ft. slew sailboat for four months.

With the recent hurricanes that have left Florida devastated, there was some concern as to whether Schinnow would be able to sail this winter or if he would have to stay here to suffer through the cold.

"To my surprise, my boat is still standing," Schinnow said. "I called down to Florida and had gotten the news that my boat was one of the few things that has survived 100 mph winds with Hurricane Francis and 120 mph winds with Hurricane Jeanne. So it looks like the trip is still on," Schinnow said.

Schinnow's boat is in storage about 20 miles from where the two hurricanes first hit. While Schinnow has been molding young minds for some 30 years he has also been sailing for about 12 years.

"Before I was a teacher, I worked as a commercial fisherman in southeast Alaska during the summer months, so I guess I have always been around boats," Schinnow said.

Schinnow, who has been at NIACC for 20 years and teaching for 30, was one of the first coordinators of the Honors Program at NIACC, wrote the 2003 self-study for NIACC, served as president of the teacher's association on campus, was a founder of the Mason City High School Alternative School and a former professor in Washington and Oregon.

"He is a great teacher and great guy. He always found ways to make class interesting and exciting," NIACC sophomore Nate Evers, who had Schinnow for Communication Skills I, said. "After he gave us a short presentation on his sailing trips and showed us pictures, I wanted to be his first mate."

While Schinnow holds both teaching and sailing close to his heart, he said he can't decide which is more exciting.

"The reason I have been in teaching so long is because of the interaction with the students," Schinnow said. "As far as the sailing goes, there is nothing more beautiful then sailing over the blue water of the Bahamas.