The Aquasol Mariner
Kwesi Soleau Acquaah
is a first-generation Ghanain-American born in San Francisco, California; hence began his life next to water. From an early age, his summers consisted of annual trips to Hampton Bays, Long Island (NY), where he would visit his mother's side of the family—all of whom were involved in the marine industry, commercial fishing and seafood restaurants. It was there that he got his first hands-on experiences with boats and life on the sea.
Kwesi's childhood was colorful and eclectic as comes along with growing up in the SF Bay Area—at age 9 he moved across the water to Oakland. This constant traversing and commuting of the Bay, especially during his high-school years, earned him the title, "All-Bay-Kwe." It was also during these formative years that Kwesi developed a strong affinity for the creation of visual art and music. He also rowed crew for a time, a sport for which he had much appreciation and talent; it also fulfilled his passion for being on the water. While the prospect of attending college as a crew athlete was definitely a viable possibility, Kwesi chose to pursue his artistic ventures and attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. It was in college that he was able to learn about fine art from a historical perspective and where he majored in Sculpture, with a focus on woodworking. During these years he also took courses concurrent courses at Merritt College in Oakland, in fields such as Sustainable/Green Building, Landscape Architecture & Horticulture.
Feeling the need to his apply his artistic skills to something more constructive and 'useable' than fine art, Kwesi left Lewis and Clark with the intention of attending architecture school—attending an additional year at Merritt College and completing four total years of college; however, life began to happen and he found that it was time to work/make a living. After many years consisting of a variety of experiences and lessons, Kwesi held on to his dreams and passions.
In 2020, he found himself living on the Treasure Coast of Florida, partially due to the Covid-19 Pandemic; however, not one to stay cooped up for too long, he began work on a personally designed houseboat at Riverside Marina in Fort Pierce, Florida. It was at Riverside that he met Reuel Parker, a renowned wooden boatbuilder, designer and author; and Reuel's partner, Bill Smith, a Fort Pierce native, shipwright, welder and guitarist. Through his time at the boat yard and in meeting these two pillars of industry, Kwesi was able to connect many of the dots of his life and his passion for the marine life fully ignited! He soon began his work under the guidance of Bill Smith in the restoration of Bill's sharpie boat, LAHOMA—a 30-year-old replica of Commodore Ralph Munroe's Egret—a legendary Florida sailboat.
After 6-months of hard work and many great lessons learned, LAHOMA was relaunched on October 2, 2021. Since then, Kwesi has been sailing and exploring many parts of the Indian River between Fort Pierce to Sebastian; all the while performing various forms of maintenance on LAHOMA as they've arisen—as is the nature with wooden boats. In that time he has endeavored to continue learning skills and improving his life, namely in the creation of this business. Nearing four years since LAHOMA's re-splashing , this has been the college course of his dreams and the career path with which he intends to navigate Life.