At a time when a small percentage of people participated in #sailing and #boating was enjoyed by avid #sports enthusiasts.Not much thought was given to marine apparel other than yellow oilskin rainwear for fisherman.

I grew up in Long Beach LI, in my parents home on the bay, my father, an avid fisherman with a 39’ boat and going “outside” meant ocean fishing every weekend, "I grew up on #boats, water skiing, and belly surfing ocean waves.

So, when I had a men's neckwear, shirt & #sportswear company I also had my own Boston Whaler. The oilskin and rubber jackets were uncomfortable to say the least. I shopped Army & Navy stores, they had a cheap $3,50 nylon jacket with steel snaps, not even stainless. Then the iconic Abercrombie & Fitch, at $6.50, their jacket had a heavier nylon shell with brass snaps which would corrode.

So, I decided to design a #functional #jacket. It took 18 months until I found Ventile®. a perfect cloth that was water repellent, had a perfect texture plus the first swatch was in the perfect khaki. I had had enough of the yellow jackets.

I was lucky enough to have a factory manager with a background in running an #outerwear factory. He and I spent long hours trying to find the materials that would perform the functions that I insisted were needed.

We had the fabric for the shell.

the jacket had to have

• #Snaps that would not rust or corrode.
• #Easy on/easy off.
• reversible.
• A #drawstring #hood that would be kept out of the way.
• large front #pockets.
• A #convenient knife pocket now called the sunglass pocket.
• #Canvas on the inside.
• #Zippers that would never rust or corrode.

My experienced manager found the Double nickel covered solid brass snaps, they were used for canvas boat covers, heavy duty and made to last.

He got the canvas samples so we could figure out the best weight & texture.

I can’t remember HOW we found the velcro®. At that time Velcro® was only used for hospital gowns and probably some other heavy industries.

The Velcro was part of the magic. Many men told me that they almost never zipped up rather they would simply slap the jacket closed with the Velcro®.

Where my manager found the #10 YKK zipper I can’t remember. Now we had materials for the perfect sailing jacket!

My manager found the factory and personally made the first and ONLY sample, he got it right on the first proto, no need for any adjustments.

The first season we sold 298 pieces. My manager asked if I wanted to spend the money to make them, I said yes please.

The following season I added #navy, #Orange, and #yellow. It took several years to realize that making in China was the only way to grow a business.

By the mid 1980s my Bert Pulitzer survivalon® was selling in the thousands. The brand as so strong that at the insistence of Joe Sweedler who was managing the Bert Pulitzer division of Rapid American I designed a survivalon® bomber jacket, we sold 30,000 the first season, thanks Joe.