Biography - Fred Waugh

Fred Waugh

Biography

Fred's years at Deerfield Academy were great but after graduation he needed to go abroad.  The Vietnam war was ending and everyone was focused on world events and the Cold War. 

In June 1975, Fred gathered four friends together to drive throughout Europe for two months.  “Europe on $10 a Day?”  They did better.  

The blend of local people with foreign tourists and the interesting youth hostel scene all made his experiences as memorable as any historic site or museum. He drove from Paris down through the south of France and back up to northern most Scotland making as many border crossings into other countries as possible. Many stories were gathered along their route.

In 1978, he moved to London for a college semester abroad at the London School of Economics.  In his spare time, there was more theater at $10 a ticket than in New York.  London has its share of great museums and palaces to spend time in. Fred found walking throughout the city from Buckingham Palace to Tower Bridge and points east was always interesting.

After graduating college in 1979, Fred moved to Paris to work for Fairchild Publications.  His office was on Rue Cambon across the street from the Ritz and smack in the middle of Paris.  He got to know the city well as he travelled to various headquarters of some of the best known (and least known) trade publications.  He met with the Editors-in-Chief of every publication on the local newsstand.  John Fairchild told him that was his responsibility - and it wasn’t all beautiful models and runway shoots.  

Returning from Paris, Fred turned his focus to oil and oil by products shipped by tank cars and tank trucks throughout the states.  He joined the largest marketer of petroleum by products in the US.  A few months training in their lab, and he was prepared to visit the plant floors and headquarters of some of the largest end users such as Firestone Tire & Rubber and John Deere.  Fred worked in petroleum marketing from 1980 – 1984 in New York and Chicago. He returned to New York in late 1984 and joined Merrill Lynch.

In 1985, he re-discovered his passion for travel.  Pequot Travel was a Southport fixture since 1972 and a growing business in both corporate and high end leisure travel.  In 1988, Pequot Travel Ltd became a member of Virtuoso: Specialists in the Art of Travel the top 1% of luxury travel agencies.  At that time, there were fewer than 40 members nationwide.

For the next 20 plus years, Fred cultivated contacts and worked his way through dozens of countries, revisiting most several times.  Always in search of unique destinations, he spent two to three months a year exploring opportunities in each of the 7 continents.

When not in Connecticut speaking with corporate and leisure clients; Fred pilots planes in Botswana, tracks game in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania, climbs with the Mountain gorillas in Rwanda, balloons over the Masai Mara, rafts the Zambezi, hikes to 18,500 ft near Mt. Everest, competes with the British RAF on the Cresta Run in St. Moritz on its 100th Anniversary, bikes the hills of Tuscany, floats in the Dead Sea, hikes around Cusco and Machu Picchu, climbes inside pyramids, rides camels in Israel and Egypt, rides Ostriches in S. Africa, swims with hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos and skiis throughout Switzerland, Austria and France.

Fred's first boss claimed "You can’t sell anything from behind your desk" and he handed him a can of GOYA beans. "It means Get Off Your Ass".  He still keeps that can on his desk today.

Get yourself a can -- and keep your passport leaning against it.

Fred still enjoys travelling to the following countries and has a few ideas if you would like to go to: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Lichtenstein, Germany, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Nepal, Israel, Iceland, (former)Yugoslavia, Croatia, China, Holland, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe, Barbados, Hungary, (former)Soviet Union, Russia, Mexico/Baja, Hong Kong / Macau, Borneo, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Ecuador/Galapagos, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Antarctica, Australia and much of the Caribbean.

At Pequot Travel, travel is a passion we hope to share with you.