Theodor Kurt Petersen

1938 - 2023

Theodor Kurt Petersen was born August 28, 1938, in Hamburg, Germany. His mother Erika Schumacher died in 1942. He was raised by his father Theodor Friedrich Petersen and his stepmother Ruth. He has 3 sisters and 1 brother all living in Hamburg. Theo graduated from Hamburg College in 1958. He served in the Germany army in 1958-59 (where he learned to drive). He started sailing at age 13 at SVAOe (his father's yacht club) and won numerous regattas with his 18' Sharpie. After college and army service, he worked with his father in the import/export business. In 1965 he emigrated to the U.S. as a first mate on a 73' sailboat. In 1967 he became the captain of Xanadu, a 48-foot Tripp design sailboat, built in Germany. Over a period of 5 years he made two transatlantic crossings, from Capetown to Rio in 1971 and Newport to Ireland in 1969. For several years, Xanadu made the trip from New England to the Caribbean via Annapolis. In 1972 he bought Selby Bay Yacht Basin in Edgewater, Maryland which was sold in 2008. He continued to race sailboats and sail on boat deliveries. Theo was a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club and the Storm Trysail Club and the Annapolitan Club. In 1984 he married Mary Weeks Garton. He helped raise Mary's two daughters, Adrienne Peace Garton Cruz and Cara McQuade Bergman. He very much enjoyed spending time with the 7 grandchildren, Annabelle, Tristan, Cameron, Lilli, Rain, Devon, and Meadow. In addition to sailing (including another transatlantic crossing in 2014 at the age of 75), he enjoyed skiing and golf and he loved watching Word Cup Soccer. A celebration of life will be held at Annapolis Maritime Museum on Monday, July 24th at 1 p.m. Please consider carpooling as there is limited parking at the museum. An online guest book is available at www.johnmtaylorfuneralhome.com