MARBLEHEAD - Robert "Rocky" James Sargent was born in December 1, 1957 in Watsonville, California. After finishing high school, he told his parents he was taking his surfboard to Hawaii to "live like he was going to die young." His parents thought, like most kids who say that, he'd be home in a couple weeks, but he was actually starting a life as a professional sailor -- and despite that not being a job by any sensible definition, he was able to live comfortably and responsibly with that career his entire life by being honest, being fair, and (though he would never admit this to anyone else) being better at it than anyone else. Rocky sailed around the world before he met his wife and partner Laura Louise Barr at LAX in Los Angeles in 1985 when he hired her to work aboard the yacht he captained. They married in Newport, RI in 1987 and raised a family aboard their C&C 39 Malolo, sailing their way through the Caribbean, New England, and South America. Rocky also captained his family through a successful racing career, carving the name of their boat (Hawai'ian for "flying fish") into regatta trophies in every port they visited. Because of his easy-going nature, friendliness, and dedication to being fair, Rocky built good relationships everywhere he went, and whether he was sailing into port in a remote island in the Pacific or a busy harbor in New England, he was always cheerfully greeted by an old friend, and he always remembered them. While fighting cancer, Rocky's healthy made sailing and surfing difficult, so he took up snowboarding to relax, throwing the same passion, love and excitement into his final days that he had always thrown into his work, friendships and family.

Rocky passed away of complications from pancreatic cancer on February 20th, 2015 at 5:52 PM, surrounded by every one of his friends and family who could fit inside the building. Rocky is preceded in death by his father Robert Dean Sargent, survived by his wife Laura, his mother Donna Doreen "Dee", his sister Jan Rhoden(Larry), and his sons Josh and Skylar. Service will be held Sunday, March 1, beginning at 3:00 PM at the Boston Yacht Club, Marblehead, on a beach in Hawai'i, and in seaside bars around the world.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be to made to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Gastrointestinal cancers:pancreatic, in memory of Rocky Sargent.