Michigan native, Michigan State University graduate, longtime Walstrom Marine employee and avid boater, Dave Lyle, will be retiring effective 2017 after 35 years at Walstrom. His deep-rooted love for the water shows throughout his successful career.
In 1971, Lyle took a sabbatical his junior year of college. He borrowed a 28-foot Pearson Triton sailboat, named Cameo, which he sailed around the world for a year — from South Haven, Michigan, to New Orleans and the Bahamas, up the Hudson River, to Harbor Springs and then back to South Haven.
Lyle later spent time working on Great Lakes ore boats and captaining a Lake Superior ferry boat, Salty container ships, Gulf of Mexico oil rig supply boats and Mackinac race boats.
He eventually moved back to Michigan and bought a J-30 sailboat in Holland, Michigan and decided to sail to the Bahamas. In August of 1981, he took a pit stop in Harbor Springs to see his old college roommate and fraternity brother, Ward Walstrom. Lyle tied up his sailboat at Walstrom Marine and never left.
He started helping Walstrom haul and launch boats, paint bottoms, and deliver and sell boats; 35 years later, Lyle is still in Harbor Springs. Lyle became sales manager, was promoted to general manager in 1991, and then became president of Walstrom Marine in 2001.
