If there’s a way to enjoy the waters of Westport, Dylan Dobbyn will find it. The Juniper Road resident owns an impressive array of things that float, glide, putt-putt, sail, and paddle and deploys them here twelve months a year. His first taste of life in Westport was when his parents trundled him off to visit relatives here in the summer.
Ten years ago, when scouring the coast to find an ideal spot to launch his nautical toys, he found that Westport floated to the top of his list. During the work week, Mr. Dobbyn, an electrical engineer, commutes to his job at Terradyne in North Reading. Every weekend Mr. Dobbyn and his wife of four years, Ellen Culliton, leave Harbor Towers in Boston and hit the road for Westport. Outside their house, and at their pier, and on the harbor, you’ll find windsurfing boards, kayaks, and motor boats. Recently, his wife Ellen was seen relaxing with a good book on a beach chair on their East Branch pier while her husband learned to ‘drive’ his latest acquisition, an AquaSkipper.
Job at Terradyne?
“Terradyne builds equipment that tests chips for any electronic device you can think of. One of our big customers is Broadcom, which makes cell phones and communication equipment. As an engineering manager, I oversee the design efforts to verify that the chips used in our chip testers actually work.”
Training for the job?
“ I went to the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and graduated with B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering.”
Globalization?
“Of the 60 people I manage, 50 are in India and the rest in North Reading. A few years ago, we all would have been in America.”
Rewards of the job?
“Whatever I do has an impact. I can tell right away whether I’m doing a good job or not.”
Childhood memories of Westport?
“I remember Westport as a cottage-y place where the kids would spend all day messing around at the beach, then eat watermelon, go straight to a salty, sandy bed and loving it.”
Choosing Westport?
“For years, I had trailered my laser around and wanted a avoid the big production of finding a harbor to get to the water. My aunt Polly Emilita, a Westport real estate broker, showed me the place on Juniper Road that had dock access and I said this is it!”
Racing a laser?
“A laser is a 14’ Olympic racing class, one-design one-person sailboat, one of the most popular sailboats there is. There are a gazillion of them and I love racing them.”
Other boats you own?
“I have a 17’ Seaway skiff at the dock and a 28’ Cape Dory power boat in the harbor off WYC for cruising, We cruise to Block Island, the Vineyard, Edgartown, and Nantucket. I’m still trying to convince my wife to set out on Friday nights as soon as we get here but it’s usually on Saturday mornings.”
At the beach?
“My favorite place to body surf is at Baker Beach. There’s a spot off the flagpole there where the bottom contour makes the water break there consistently good. My dad was a life guard at Coast Guard Beach when he was in college and he taught me how to body surf.”
Winter kayaking?
“I love this. For safety, I did a survival test, dunked myself in the water. The struggle I had to get back in the boat awakened me to how dangerous it could be. I’ cautious now and don’t go out when it’s rough.”
Building models?
“I’m kind of a big kid and love toys. I have a Mindstorms Lego Kit and designed a model of a self-balancing motorcycle. It’s computer-controlled so after I built it, I wrote the software for it. It had a balance sensor so if it was starting to fall over, it would straighten itself out by steering that way.”
Sailing in Boston?
“We live next to the Aquarium so when I get out of work, I head for the Boston Sailing Center and cruise the harbor in a J-24.”
Latest water toy?
“I bought an AquaSkippper to use off the dock. It’s made of aircraft aluminum, weighs 26 pounds, is 6’ long, and is designed to be self-propelled. Sort of like a pogo stick. You have to get a rhythm going or you sink. Luckily, it floats.”
A nautical partnership?
“ Our first date was a cruise to see the sunrise at the entrance to Boston Harbor. On one or our early times together we did a week-long cruise up to Provincetown and around to Nantucket on boat. That’s when I figured it was going really well. If you can live a week on a boat with someone and have a great time that’s a good sign.”
Westport wonderland?
“Westport’s a water wonderland - a great boating harbor combined with a beautiful surf beach and a nice harbor behind it, all within walking distance of each other.”
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