Deception is home ported in northern Colorado near Fort Collins, on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. She is owned by Bill and Georgia Ray.

"We acquired Deception from Georgia's brother, Stan Brickler, who died in 1989. Stan was from Tucson and left us his beloved M23. He had taught us how to sail our first sailboat, an M17.

We had the unforgettable opportunity in 1987 to sail as crew in the Columbus Day Regatta in San Carlos, Mexico on his last sailing adventure. Our only solo big sail on Deception was at Flathead Reservoir, Montana for 2 weeks in the early 1990s. That was amazing sailing. She has been in storage since then… for a good while in Illinois and then we brought her home to Colorado. It is our intention to get her ship shape this spring for summer sailing at the local area lakes until we get our sea legs back. Eventually, we would like very much to do some traveling with her and join the folks going to the San Juan Islands for some scenic cruising".

"We are going to replace the port lights with bronze, hoping the change will only add to her salty appearance. We will alsobe attending to some repair items and refurbishing some other areas which will keep us busy this spring. She needs some TLC, for sure.
We are both retired and have lived in the Fort Collins area since 1972. Bill was a firefighter and Georgia an oral surgery assistant for 24 years each. We have two dogs (English Cockers…Darby, 8 and Chip, 1 1/2) who will crew with us. Darby is used to boating, and Chip loves the water. Hopefully he will stay aboard during our sails.
We will also have some occasional crew members, Shannon (in the picture top row right) and Shawn, great nephews, who will be learning to sail this summer. We may entice them into a regatta challenge or two.

It is our pleasure to become a part of the Montgomery Sailboat Owners Group and share in the collective history of the M23. We look forward to sending pictures of our progress and certainly welcome any advice you seasoned sailors may care to give".

Bill & Georgia Ray