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Sailing School
Meet our Instructors
Craig's love for sailing began more than 35 years ago, sailing a Sunfish on Folsom Lake. After graduating from college in Arizona, Craig moved to Silicon Valley, took basic keelboat lessons, and hooked up with several racing crews. He raced extensively for several seasons on boats ranging from 23 to 40 feet and raced to Hawaii in two Pacific Cups, winning the Navigator's Trophy in 1994. Craig has sailed up and down the California coast and chartered in the San Juan Islands, British Virgin Is. and Tahiti. He has owned several boats including a Cal 29, Ranger 33, and a Hans Christian 43 and recently built his first boat, a Redwing 18 Pocket Cruiser. Craig love's teaching and has been teaching for Tradewinds since 1989, when he earned his U.S.C.G. license and ASA Instructor certifications. Craig is now an ASA Instructor Evaluator. In his spare time he enjoys mountain biking, playing the guitar and singing as an amateur musician, and spending time with his family in the Sierra foothills.
Another former student and member becomes an instructor. Lance is an Oakland native and graduate of UC Berkeley who moved up to sailing with Tradewinds in 1998 when he got tired of working on the outdrive of his stinkpotter. His SF Bay boat is “Mostly Harmless”, a Newport 41 owned with two other Tradewinds graduates. Since giving up playing with computers, he spends winters playing in the Caribbean on “Eaux Vives,” a Beneteau M405. You can check out his Caribbean life here: http://www.accidentalcruiser.com Lance is NAUI dive certified and is currently awaiting his Masters license from the friendly folks at the United States Coast Guard.
Sailing still gives Steve goosebumps. Whether sailing across the bay, doing deliveries from Oregon to Cabo San Lucas, or seeing a beginning student "get it" he still gets a thrill. Steve started sailing on San Francisco Bay in the early 70's on a Laser. He got his first sailboat because his wife didn't want a canoe, as "they are too tippy." He immediately joined the Small Boat Race Association and entered every race he could find in northern California. He says that although he wasn't very good, he did have perfect attendance. It was during this time he had the good fortune of sailing on Lasers against a group of teenagers that grew up to become world class sailors. They have gone on to skipper in the America's Cup, Round the World Races, and become Olympic medallists. He thinks that maybe if he had stayed close enough, for long enough, he could have learned to sail faster. Steve later taught beginning sailing
and became the Director of the Briones Sailing Club. In the 90's, Steve discovered Tradewinds,
and couldn't believe that we let him sail keelboats on the bay as much as he wanted to for less
than the cost of slip fees. He's been an active member since then, earned his ASA accreditation,
and now teaches and shares his enthusiasm with our students. His plans are to continue learning,
teaching, delivering boats, and of course sail, sail, sail on into retirement.
Emily grew up sailing with her family on San Francisco Bay. She started taking courses through Tradewinds in 2000, and has since completed certification through Advanced Coastal Cruising. She enjoyed introducing friends to sailing, while skippering the fleet of 25’ to 40’ sailboats on SF Bay. Having been tempted by the stories of sailors in the tropics in Latitude 38 for years, Emily decided to start living her own tropical adventure in 2005. She quit her engineering job, sold her house, and made plans to spend a year sailing. Those plans were cut short on the first night of the big adventure by an accidental jibe during a storm on the way to Los Angeles. A month later, with the broken ribs and contused lung on the mend, she was able to meet the boat (Barking Spider 3, a MacGregor 65) in Juneau, Alaska, for a visually spectacular cruise down the inside passage to Vancouver. She spent six months on private sailboats in Mexico, “working” as crew. On boats ranging in size from 37’ to 53’, she sailed from Mazatlan down to Puerto Escondido, and then sailed back up north to spend a month in the Sea of Cortez. She had a great time snorkeling isolated anchorages, exploring the cities, baffling the locals with her garbled grammar, and swapping sea stories with other cruisers. Needless to say, Emily highly recommends cruising in Mexico. Upon returning to the states with a great tan and a mild addiction to churros and avocados, she started working as an instructor for Tradewinds to share what she’s learned with others, so they can go have their own great sailing adventures.
Chuck has a BSME & ME and retired as a Chief of Special Projects for the State of California Water Resource Board. He started sailing in 1970 on a Catalina 22 and then joined the Tradewinds sailing club in 1981. He bought a Hunter 35.5 in 1989, which he placed in our club. He then really got the sailing bug and sailed his 35.5 to Hawaii in 4 Pacific Cup races. He was commodore of the Pacific Cup Yacht Club in 1995-96. He has cruised widely in the Caribbean and the San Juans. Chuck has been teaching sailing since 1988. He is fond of saying "You never take your troubles from the dock".
Kelli joined Tradewinds as a BKB student in November 2002. She completed ASA courses through Bareboat with Tradewinds Sailing School and took ASA Advanced Coastal Cruising in the Carribean. Kelli skippered one of the flotilla boats on Tradewinds' Greece trip in 2004. Kelli and husband Mike own a Beneteau 40CC and a 48' Camargue powerboat. Kelli has skippered boats in Greece and the Virgin Islands. Kelli is ASA-certified to instruct Basic Keelboat, Basic Coastal Cruising, and Coastal Navigation. Kelli is a licensed US Coast Guard captain. Kelli grew up waterskiing on Folsom Lake and continues "powered" watersports on Trinity Lake in Northern California and the Sacramento Delta. Kelli was a horseback riding instructor for many years and taught technical writing for 3 years. She earned her private aiplane pilots license at 19 years old. Kelli has been a technical writing manger for various software companies and now does freelance technical and professional writing and website design work.
James began sailing as a teenager racing Lightening class one designs in the chilly waters of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. After a long hiatus the draw of San Francisco Bay led him to Tradewinds Sailing Club and School. There he found a sailing home. James holds ASA teaching certifications for Basic Keelboat, Basic Coastal Cruising, Bareboat Charter, and Coastal Navigation. James regularly cruises the Bay and the California coast. He owns the Toba Leah, an Ericson 28, in charter at Tradewinds. When winter weather storms over the Bay you will find James skiing the Sierra steeps and deeps. James works as a transmission dispatcher for PG&E.
Bob Kimble is a retired high school and college teacher, having taught math, science (Physics and Astronomy) and photography. Bob began his love of the water with a Berkeley Sea Scout ship. From there he progressed to surfing, white water kayaking, rafting and sailing. Bob has sailed and raced Hobie cats for 20 yrs, and over the last several years has progressed to sailing larger boats, including big catamarans in Tahiti and the Caribbean. Bob still enjoys sailing SF bay, and loves to share his passion for sailing with new students.
Tony holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Pomona College and a Master's in Religion from Yale University. He is also a musician who began performing professionally at the age of 12 and has occupied the drum stool on the road or in the studio for such artists as Maria Muldaur, Jr. Walker and the All-Stars, Mary Wells, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Hoyt Axton, and Dave "Six Days On The Road" Dudley. His songs have been recorded by a variety of artists including Asleep at the Wheel, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Commander Cody, Hoyt Axton, and Bette Midler, who sang his song, "Midnight in Memphis" on the soundtrack of the movie, "The Rose." After retiring from the road in the early nineties, he concentrated his energies on his business (a cassette and CD duplication facility) and teaching philosophy at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. He also learned to sail at Tradewinds, joined the club, and later began teaching BKB and BCC. In the early nineties he sailed to Hawaii with fellow tradewinds instructor Ted Stuart, and in the Carribean with former Tradewinds partner and teacher Bob Miller. In 1994, he purchased 1972 Ericson 39 IOR sloop Maverick, preparing her for a lengthy voyage. On March 17, 2001, he and crew Terry Shrode set sail for the South Pacific, making their first landfall in the Marquesas 27 days later. The circumnavigation was completed when the pair sailed back under the Golden Gate Bridge on June 7, 2003. Their adventure was often featured in the pages of Latitude 38, and details and photos of the trip can be found at www.ussmaverick.net.
Ian has a BS in Computer Science and a Masters in Business Administration from Witwatersrand Technikon and York University respectively. Ian has also been active as a leader in youth movements and is an officer in the Israel Defense Force reserves. He has actively taught in a number of settings including the military, academic and business worlds. Ian is also a former Tradewinds student and remains a current member of the Tradewinds Sailing Club. Ian started sailing on a Laser 2 that he raced on inland lakes and offshore in South Africa. He then bought and sailed a Hobie 14 before moving on to keelboats. Ian is a certified diver and has sailed off South Africa, on the Great Lakes, in the Mediterranean off Israel, Greece and Croatia.
EJ’s day-job is as an environmental consultant for IEC Corporation in Sacramento. He’s an expert in water quality and wildlife biology. EJ has been sailing for more years than he will admit, in the San Francisco Bay Area, some coastal passages, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Tahiti, Baja and one memorable race in Hong Kong. His experience ranges from windsurfers to helming the 110-foot square rigged "Jacqueline", calling tactics on an Express 37, and driving the 90-ton paddlewheeler "Spirit of Sacramento." He is one of our most popular (and most demanding) instructors, so “when you come to Bareboat, better come prepared!” He has been teaching for Tradewinds since 1980.
Sailing was something that I had thoughts of doing for many years but never got around to until moving to San Rafael in 1996. I had owned ski boats for many years and the San Joaquin Valley was great for that, but sailing seemed to be the ultimate way to enjoy being on the water and the Bay one of the best places in the world to sail. I looked at boats for a while and almost bought one, but since I had never sailed before I think I made the lucky and right decision to take lessons at Tradewinds. I was an engineer with PG&E until retirement in 1998, and then I really got a lot of time on the Bay in all kinds of conditions and with many interesting people. I’ve sailed on Lake Erie, in the Greek Islands with a side trip to Turkey, and most recently in Holland on some of the prettiest, but most congested lakes and waterways you could imagine. Sailing the Bay is still the best, with any conditions and challenges you could want and also great views and places to go along with the sailing.
Mike simply likes being on the water. Whether it's hearing the gurgle of the water on the hull while sailing across the Bay in light winds, racing in brisk winds with the rail in the water, fishing, or even, yes, cruising in a stinkpot, he enjoys the feeling of freedom and the nearness of nature that happens on the water. He has sailed much of the US coasts, the Caribbean, the Aegean, the Adriatic and cruised much of the Inside Passage from Seattle to Alaska. He has introduced hundreds of people to sailing since he started teaching and gets a kick out of watching people who are new to sailing learn and get excited about the same things he likes about the sport. He is certified to teach by both the American Sailing Association and US Sailing, and he has his Coast Guard license.
Ahoy! Working with Tradewinds Sailing School lets me enjoy my two passionate avocations—sailing and teaching—to help you become a safe, competent, and passionate sailor yourself. My goals are to build your technical skill sets, to increase your confidence, and to share some of the secrets of enjoyable cruising. We’ll achieve these goals in a relaxed atmosphere that is supportive and fun. I’ve sailed in the San Juan Islands, the Canadian Strait of Georgia, and the Dodecanese, Cycladic, and Peloponnese cruising grounds of the Aegean Sea. I’ve raced double-handed throughout San Francisco Bay and offshore in the Pacific Ocean waters from Drakes Bay to the Farallones Islands to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Bay. Those exotic locations were fun, but day-sailing on the bay with my 3-year-old granddaughter is still as good as it gets. I hold ASA Instructor Certificates through Bareboat Cruising plus Coastal Navigation and Docking, and I am a USCG-licensed Master not greater than 50 gross tons with sailing and towing endorsements. When not indulging my appetites for sailing and teaching, I run a consulting engineering firm in wine country of Sonoma County. My wife and I reside in Santa Rosa, California.
Ken Neely began his career on the water in the 1990’s as a commercial fisherman in Alaska and spent six summers plying the waters near Kodiak Island. During that time, a friend introduced him to sailing. Ken was immediately hooked! After only a few days on a sailboat, he decided to pursue a long-term cruising goal, and set out to learn how to sail. Ken has been with Tradewinds since 2006, and aside from teaching sailing, he is also an analytical chemist in charge of a water testing laboratory in Grass Valley, California. Ken charters internationally once or twice a year, and is currently searching for a blue-water cruiser to take he and his wife to Hawaii and Alaska for a six month shakedown.
Ed joined Tradewinds in 1984, and learned to sail at Folsom Lake and on the Bay. After 6 years in our sailing club, he bought a Hunter 28, and went gunk-holing around the Bay and Delta. He earned his USCG 50-ton license, and has chartered extensively in the Virgin Islands, Grenada, Tonga and Mexico. Ed then bought a Pacific Seacraft 34, sold his land anchor and moved aboard! For Ed, who was introduced to sailing through Tradewinds nearly 20 years ago, the dream and the adventure continues...
Steve first learned to lake sail dinghies and small boats after completing college and living on the East Coast. After moving to California in the seventies, he began crewing on various size racing boats before buying his first boat, an Ericson 35. Steve continued to race on other boats while sailing his own boats on the Bay and cruising up and down the West Coast. Although he gave up racing many years ago, he still has many fond memories, including a first place finish in the double-handed Farallons race. Then, after nearly three decades on the water, kids and other family obligations curtailed Steve’s sailing adventures until he joined Tradewinds in 2003. He soon received his ASA Advanced Coastal Cruising certification and has been actively sailing our boats on the Bay and offshore. Steve also holds a US Coast Guard Masters license. Steve
has taught skiing and martial arts and enjoys sharing his knowledge and love
of sailing with others. Steve works as a construction manager building water
treatment plants throughout California and plans to continue teaching and working
in the marine industry after retirement. Jerry came to sailing from a longtime background in sport aviation. For many years he was a commercial pilot and professional skydiver who operated his own skydiving training center. In the late 1980’s, he moved to the Sacramento area, where he learned to sail on Sacramento’s Lake Natomas while he was earning a graduate degree in history at CSUS. After years of developing skydiving training programs, the transition to sailing instruction was an easy one. So in 2004, when he retired as Director of the Placer County Department of Museums, Jerry began dividing his time between teaching for Tradewinds in the summer and sailing Sea Story, his Pearson 39, to Mexico in the winter. In 2007, he designed and wrote the new Tradewinds Basic Keelboat Sailing Course Syllabus. Jerry currently holds a U.S.C.G. Master’s License and is ASA certified to teach Basic Keelboat, Basic Coastal Cruising, Bare Boat Charter, Advanced Coastal Cruising, Cruising Catamaran and Coastal Navigation. He is also a PADI certified diver. His sailing experience covers Spain, Croatia, Italy, Tahiti, the Great Lakes, British Columbia, the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Coast from Seattle to Barra de Navidad. If you don’t see him around Tradewinds in the winter time, you can usually track Jerry down on his blog; www.theseastory.com .
Ted graduated with a BS and an MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Virginia and University of Southern California respectively. He retired after 33 years as an engineer with the United States Forest Service. Ted began sailing as a teenager on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, and has sailed his own boats on lakes in Wisconsin and Minnesota as well as on San Francisco Bay. He has also chartered sailboats in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. In 1995, Ted sailed his boat "September Song" to Hawaii and British Columbia, Canada, and spent 3 years cruising Mexico with his wife Pat. He raced his boat in the 1996 Baja Ha Ha, taking first, and has crewed in the 1999 Ha Ha, as well as the 2000 and 2001 Banderas Bay regattas. Ted joined Tradewinds in 1991, and has been teaching at Tradewinds since 1996.
Bob has a MS in HR/Training Systems and BA in English/minor in US History. He is an instructor and course writer for a software company. He has been a teacher of some kind for over 20 years, including military ordnance school, college history and English classes, and corporate training. Teaching sailing classes lets him combine his occupation and his passion. Bob lives in Marin county, where he sails his Cal 27 "Kestrel" out of San Rafael, bareboats a lot, and crews on several racing boats on the bay and ocean. For more, visit http://bobwalden.com/sailing.
In 2002, Andrew joined Tradewinds Sailing Club and earned his certification through Celestial Navigation. Shortly thereafter, Andrew converted to the Dark Side and purchased a Farrier-designed F-27 trimaran. In 2006, he began building a Farrier-designed F-32 in Richmond. Like all boat projects, it’s “almost finished.” In January 2010, he finished his Master of Yachts 200 Tons with the MCA (the UK equivalent of the US Coast Guard) and began instructing with Tradewinds which has allowed him to combine his two passions: teaching and being on the water. The biggest draw for sailing for Andrew is the ability to see with a new perspective. In addition to the San Francisco Bay, sailing has taken Andrew to Puget Sound, Dalmatia, Venice, the Carolinas, and the Caribbean and Florida. And sailing has given him more crazy adventures than he can remember. You never know what to expect when you leave the dock. But, isn’t that what life is all about?!
Sailing captivated Marianne when she came to San Francisco some years back. Growing up in the Bavarian Alps, she had never given boats much thought before. But, from the moment she saw the blue Bay speckled with white sails, she couldn't forget about them. Soon, she sailed the Bay, much of the West Coast and around the Hawaiian Islands. After helping deliver a MacGregor 65 across the Atlantic to the Med, she found herself being blown across the oceans aboard a Cal 40 on a whirlwind circumnavigation. Small wonder the salt wouldn’t shake off after that and she became a Tradewinds instructor in 2002. Since then, she has enjoyed lots of day sails on San Francisco Bay with her students and made many friends on Tradewinds charters to Mexico, enchanting Tahiti, the Caribbean, the Greek Islands and Turkey’s beautiful Turquoise Coast. In cooler regions, she has sailed the rugged North West and crunched ice in Alaska, negotiating calving glaciers and floating icebergs. She crews on ocean races with Tradewinds members on the 65ft ULDB Barking Spider 3 and has participated in Transpac, Los Angeles to Honolulu, and Marina del Rey to Puerto Vallarta races. Marianne has her Coast Guard license and ASA instructor qualifications including Bare Boat Charter and Coastal Navigation. She invites you to join her at Tradewinds and looks forward to helping you reach your own sailing goals. Marianne is also an accomplished Tahitian dancer.
Charlie, who has an M.A. in vocal rehabilitation, has been teaching sailing
at Tradewinds since 1974. He taught sailing at Michigan State before coming
to California. He was a therapist at U.C. Davis and is now involved in Hospital
Management in Sacramento. He has sailed the Caribbean, most of the East Coast,
the Great Lakes, most of the West Coast and Tahiti. He has skippered the Mathew
McKinley and the Spirit of Sacramento.
Bill retired in 2006 after 37 years in the corporate world in industrial engineer management and is now pursuing his dream of “working” on the water. His first experience on the water came after he was a few months old and has continued. In 2005 Bill obtained his 100 ton Master’s License and began working weekends on the bay with Tradewinds Sailing School, Vessel Assist, delivering vessels, personal captain, skipper for ASA in Antigua, Vallejo Ferry and the Red & White Fleet. Bill has also worked with insurance companies in teaching and certifying people on their newly purchased yachts. Since retirement his “part time” job has turned into almost fulltime opportunities. Bill also volunteers with the USCG Auxiliary. Bill has a passion for teaching all aspects of boating. He begins each class by telling his students his goal for the class is S.A.F.E. , which stands for Safety, Advance their skills, Fun and Education. And his goal is to learn something new himself in the teaching process. Bill is certified by the ASA for BKB, BCC, BBC, ACC, Coastal Navigation and Radar. He holds a USCG 100 Ton Master’s license, unlimited Radar Observers, Sailing endorsement, and towing endorsement. He also holds a Commercial pilot’s license with an Instrument rating and has a FCC Commercial Radio license [formerly First Class Radio License] and is a Amateur radio operator. Bill believes education should continue until we slip the bonds of earth.
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| Copyright 2010 Tradewinds Sailing School and Club on San Francisco Bay, Design by Tangella Corporation | |||||
| Last modified on: Wednesday September 01 2010 | |||||
Office hours: Monday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm
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Craig Walker
Lance
Batten
Steve Damm
Emily Dean 
Chuck Farrell
Kelli Gant 
James Gotesky 
Bob Kimble
Tony
Johnson
Ian Joseph
E.J. Koford
Tony Medunic 
Mike Morrow 
Larry Myers 
Ken Neely
Ed
Polkenhorn
Steve Rosenblum 
Jerry Rouillard
Ted Stuart
Bob Walden
Andrew Wood
Marianne Wheeler
Charlie Wilson
Bill Yawn