Terry Tomalin was born in New York City on Nov. 25, 1960, the eighth of nine children. After graduating from the University of South Florida in 1983, Tomalin joined the staff of the Leesburg Commercial, where he covered crime and politics. Later at the Lakeland Ledger, Tomalin's stories about a local sheriff who hired Ku Klux Klan members resulted in his removal from office. The stories received the Roy Howard Award for Public Service. Tomalin joined the Times in the fall of 1986 and spent 18 months investigating another sheriff's department before taking a one year leave of absence to backpack and fly-fish throughout New Zealand and Australia. Upon his return, Tomalin once again covered county politics, but after bungee jumping off railroad bridges and climbing steaming volcanoes, government reporting had lost its allure. So in 1990, Tomalin joined the Sports staff. Over the past 17 years, he has written about everything from cave diving to blue-water sailing. In 2005, his outdoors report, Gulf & Bay, was picked best outdoors section in the country by the Outdoor Writers Association of America. In 2006, Tomalin was named a fellow of the prestigious Explorers Club in New York City. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in Florida studies, with an emphasis on the pre-Columbian maritime tradition. An avid surfer, Tomalin lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Kanika, and children, Kai and Nia.

E-mail Terry Tomalin: tomalin@sptimes.com

Terry Tomalin now has a blog, Tight Lines, for column updates, fresh commentary and reader reaction.