Never Surrender, Never Retreat

    Should you ever visit the continent of Africa, you will find a fierce, medium-sized animal known for its thick skin and aggressive attitude that inhabits a variety of environments, including deserts, forests, and grasslands: the Honey Badger. On the banks of Kendrick's Creek, tucked snugly in a boat slip at Mackey's Marina, you will find a very similar animal.

    Steve Lafrance was born in Middlesex, England, when his father was serving in the United States Air Force. Steve spent parts of his childhood in Hawaii and Delaware, moving frequently as any military family is known to do, but he spent much of his time as a young man in Yorktown, Virginia. When it was time to leave home and step out into the world on his own, Steve followed in his father's footsteps and joined the United States Air Force, serving our country in South Korea.

    When Steve's enlistment ended, he used the communication skills he had learned in the service to help establish the first commercial Internet. As time passed, Steve pursued his love of automobiles and ran an auto body shop. Steve was married once upon a time, but the marriage went pear-shaped, as so many do these days, and Steve became a single-parent father to his son and two daughters. Just last May, Steve's now grown children gave him a rocking chair for "Mother's Day", which he keeps on the dock under the canopy.

    Whenever anyone at the marina thinks about Steve, the first word that comes to mind is "tenacious". Like the Honey Badger, Steve is not likely to relinquish a course of action once he has put his mind to it. The man rode his bicycle from the Canadian border to Key West in 2018. He immediately followed that epic accomplishment by riding his bike from his house in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, to San Diego, California, in the spring of 2019.

    Steve already owned one house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but he decided to build two more nearby with his own two hands so he could leave each of his three children a house when he passed away. Tragedy struck during the construction of those two additional houses. A gust of wind caught hold of the plywood that Steve was carrying, and he fell 11 feet to the ground, landing directly on his head. The fall shattered several vertebrae in Steve's neck. With the determination that only Steve and that Honey Badger possess, he crawled to his truck, made a call to paramedics, and was carried to the hospital, where he underwent extensive surgery.

    The steel rod that the doctors had to insert in Steve's neck put an end to his bike-riding days. What was Steve going to do now? He loved riding his bike. He loved the challenge and the adventure of a long-distance trek, but riding his beloved bike was no longer an option. In the very spirit of sheer determination, and despite his daughter, Sarah's, objections, Steve decided to buy a sailboat and learn to sail. Over the last four years, Steve has sailed in 3 Father's Day Regattas, cruised to Plymouth to attend the annual Black Bear Festival, sailed to Wanchese and Ocracoke, and conducted a "Pub Crawl" for Mackey's Marina that included many destinations around the Albemarle Sound.

    There is no stopping the man. During the summer months, Steve can be found on his Watkins 27, working on a seemingly endless list of projects. If he isn't there, he will be sipping a rum and Coke under the canopy in the rocking chair he received from his kids. During the winter months, Steve will be off on an adventure. This winter, he will sail up to Norfolk, Virginia, to spend time with his family, and the following winter, he plans to take a cruise down to Florida.

    Louis Pasteur once said, "Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity." Whatever life throws at Steve Lafrance, he is sure to achieve his goals because, like Louis Pasteur and that fierce Honey Badger, his strength indeed lies solely in his tenacity.