Butterfly on the Water

What happened to your dreams of childhood? How many of them came true?Most of us forget them, but the young Greek boy, Thomas Soulantzos, never lost focus of his dream.As a young lad, Thomas watched the sailboats on the Aegeon Sea. They sailed back and forth, island to island, looking like butterflies opening and closing their wings like, "butterflies on the water."He came to America on a cargo ship, passed the Statue of Liberty, jumped ship, and eventually worked his way up to being one of the best chefs and restaurant owners in New York. He made enough money to follow his dream.He hired the #1 schooner designer in America and together they designed and built a world class wooden schooner, the only wooden schooner built in Taiwan. This story includes the production of the boat, Koukla, the people who helped make it happen, the crew members, and the adventures they had from Taiwan, to Hong Kong, Japan, San Diego, through the Panama Canal and finally home to New York...all 14,500 miles written by the intrepid crew members.Koukla, Thomas' Butterfly, won awards in Asia and America and was invited to Operation Sail 1986, Salute to the Statue of Liberty, the commemoration of the 100-year-old emblem of freedom.