About Kirby Yacht Sales and Mark Kirby
A New Brokerage with a 25-Year History

Many of you already know me -- perhaps because I listed or sold your boat -- but for those of you who don't, I would like to give you some background on my career and experience in the sailboat business.  I founded Kirby Yacht Sales in 2005, after nearly 25 years as a yacht broker in Western New York.  Over that time, I have sold more than 700 sailboats to clients both in the area and across North America.

Over the years -- as both a broker and life-long sailor -- I have acquired a broad knowledge of sailboats that I have been told is second to none in the industry.  While that may or may not be true, after a quarter-century in the business I am confident in my ability to assess sailboats, match clients to boats and handle the complicated process of listing and selling brokerage sailboats.

I began sailing at the age of six as crew on my family’s 24 ft. Shark sailboat. I soon began skippering racing dinghies on Lake Ontario including the two-man Albacore and the Laser, then the hot racing dinghy.  Cruising aboard our family's boats, a Cal 34 and later a C&C Landfall 38, was a regular, much-loved activity.  Racing continued to play an important role in my life and I have had the good fortune to sail aboard a Freeman Cup winner as well as several other seriously-campaigned boats in the 70’s and 80’s.

FAMILY CRUISING

BOUNTY FROM THE SEA

ENJOYNING MY SONS LASER

On the education and career fronts, I graduated from college in the mid-west, land-locked Wittenberg University, with a degree in biology.  I also had the good fortune at Wittenberg to meet my wife of nearly 25 years (it's hard to imagine we were kids that long ago!) during my senior year.

After gaining some business experience in Ohio and Texas, I returned to Western New York and began working as a yacht broker.  Over the years, my client base, while centered in upstate and Western New York, Southern Ontario, and Pennsylvania has included customers from many other parts of North America.

During my time in the industry, I have had the great fortune to sail countless boats in numerous venues across the continent.  The experience and familiarity I have gained sailing numerous designs stands me in good stead time as I advise clients searching for their next - or first - boat.  Among recent, memorable events was an offshore delivery of a client’s 51-foot Hinckley between Daytona, Florida and Tortolla, in the British Virgin Islands.  I have also bareboat chartered a number of times in the Caribbean, raced one design on our J 24 with my teenage son, and had many memorable family cruising adventures on both lakes Erie and Ontario.

At the moment, my sailing interests are focused on re-living my childhood as the owner of a Laser once again.  My son and I spar regularly on dueling Lasers and I am now teaching my daughter how to handle the boat.