Obituary of Alexis Koltsov-Mosalsky

Alex set sail for his most exotic journey amid the love and admiration of family and friends. Born in Shanghai to Russian migrs Alexander and Vera Koltsov-Mosalsky, Alex was raised in the Philippines and San Francisco before moving to Seattle in 1954. A 1958 Ballard grad and All-City defensive lineman, he attended WSU, was elected student body vice president, all while serving in the Wash. Air National Guard. A Political Science grad, Alex moved to Washington D.C. with ATT, worked at Boeing, then the US Information Agency, which sent him to live in USSR as a guide/interpreter for a year-long hand tool exhibit from 1965-66. In the mid-80s, he helped build a Peace Park in Tashkent. In the late 1960s, he left the corporate world and never looked back, beginning a 35-year career in the marine industry, saying The ocean became my classroom, the wind and the people who used it, my teachers. He was a professional sailboat racer living in San Francisco and Marin County in the 70s and 80s, racing from California to Mexico and Hawaii. He became a USCG 100-ton licensed captain/engineer, piloting vessels up to 90-feet long, tourist boats on San Francisco Bay and a paddle-wheeler on the Napa River. The 90s found him crab fishing in the Sea of Okhotsk and Kamchatka. He traveled Asia, Europe, Mexico, South America, Panama, the Caribbean, Morocco, Uzbekistan and Lake Baikal. Having founded a translation firm, Alex served as president of the Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society. He drove buses for King County Metro from 2002-08, retiring to his sailboat moored in Everett and the San Juan Islands. Alex pursued spiritual studies with Arica Institute for 35 years and lived with prostate cancer holistically for 12. He is survived by brother Val Mosalsky (Carol Moore) and many friends, who wish him fair winds, following seas and long may his big jib draw.