VICTORIA SAILING SCHOOL - Key Persons

Bob sailed dinghies for fun while growing up in Michigan but started getting more serious about the sport 15 years ago - since getting his bareboat skipper certificate he has chartered and sailed throughout the Caribbean, and the Florida coast, Sea of Cortez, Inside Passage of British Columbia, and Lake Superior. He's a retired PhD structural geologist and an expert rock climber with 3 decades of high-level trad, sport, and alpine experience, so you might get some extra local geology and knot lessons squeezed into your class for good measure.

Captain James Cook (this one) spent his youth on the family potato farm, 60 miles north of Toronto, Ontario. He enrolled at the University of Western Ontario, but soon met a group of fellow students whose ideas would radically change his lifestyle. These friends wanted to buy a sailboat and (after graduation) embark on a sailing adventure. Not having the necessary funds, Cook spent the next two years in the Canadian Yukon, working underground in the silver mines. He completed his Economics degree through summer school and correspondence courses. Departing from Halifax, he spent the next 8 years, living and cruising the 50 ft sloop "Cyclone". After the first year, the engine gave out. Not having the funds for a rebuilt engine, they spent the next 7 years sailing without the assistance of an auxiliary. To survive, he joined the professional delivery circuit. Cook racked up over 40,000 open ocean miles, delivering yachts across the world's oceans, long before the days of GPS - sextant navigation only. During this time, he passed the examinations for the USCG 100 ton, Open Ocean Masters license (with Sailing Addendum). After making the decision that it was time to settle down, he moved back to Victoria, British Columbia. He went back to school, earning an Electrical Engineering degree. To support himself, he worked for Sea Wing Sailing School as their head instructor. At this time he was nominated by Sea Wing Sailing School to become an Instructor Evaluator with the CYA (Canadian Yachting Association), the highest standard for the CYA. When the ASA was formed, the ASA executive asked him to travel to Santa Barbara and host the ASA instrucors Clinic # 2. He is currently the most senior Instructor Evaluator in the ASA (the most advanced certification available in the ASA) ! After graduation, he spent one year working for GTE (Vancouver office) in a research laboratory which designed microwave radios. At the end of the year, for his two week vacation, he had an opportunity to deliver a boat from New York to Bermuda. It was riding around Bermuda on a scooter that he realized the corporate world would have to wait. Returning to British Columbia, he handed in his resignation, moved back to Victoria and purchased the Victoria Sailing School. Five years later, he took a young lady who was vacationing in Victoria on an "Introduction to Sailing" afternoon sail. About a year later, he moved the Victoria Sailing School to Denver, Colorado.

Erica Cook and Tibor Van den Wildenbergh have been in the process of taking over the sailing school for a number of years. Erica, Jim's Daughter, has been surrounded by sailing her whole life and grew up helping her father maintain and clean the boats. She currently runs our kids sailing programs and small sailboat oportunities. Tibor was taught to sail by Jim, and hasn't stopped sailing since. He loves to race on Wednesday nights, and wants to spread the joy of sailing to as many people as possible. Erica and Tibor officially took over the sailing school January, 2019 and they are looking forward to growing the school and educating as many people as they can!

James Creasey is a renaissance man indeed. He combines a British ability to analyze a problem with an American flair for seeing its potential. He is a firm believer in the power of teams and the ability of ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results through shared goals and collaboration. Sailing is a unique way for almost anyone to experience that magic. James is a healthy, athletic Brit and has been sailing boats of every kind since he was 6 years old. He skippers trips for friends and family in the waters of New England, old England, California, Florida, Greece & the Mediterranean, the San Juan Islands, and the Caribbean. He is an American Sailing Association Instructor and loves to introduce people to the world of sailing.

Jenny Sutton grew up racing sailboats and teaching sailing in Clear Lake, IA. She lived in Minneapolis, MN, for ten years and joined the Minnesota Women's Sailing Team as an instructor and skipper for local races. She obtained her ASA Bareboat Charter Certification from Northern Breezes in MN and chartered in Lake Superior and the Caribbean. In 2020, she joined Victoria Sailing School. Jenny enjoys helping new students understand sailing from different perspectives.

Growing up in the Great Lakes state and sailing since his teens, John is at home in and on the water. He's been the owner of a Hobie 18 racing cat, and a Catalina 22, and raced J-24s and J-29s for over 9 years as well as well as chartered boats on the Chesapeake, in Florida, around the early pirate infested Caribbean, California and Australia. He was also second in command and chief navigator sailing an ex-Whitbread Round the World Race boat (race originally named and sponsored by the British Whitbread Brewing Company, but now called The Ocean Race) from Palma Majorca in the Mediterranean to the Caribbean….before such things as GPS and satellite phones - and yes, nailed the Sombrero light marking the Anegada Passage into Virgin Gorda within 2 hours of expectations after 3 weeks at sea. Passionate about outdoor sports and working with and teaching people, John has been an avalanche certified ski patroller, a dive instructor on Lake Superior, and since leaving the high tech corporate world as a senior executive, a professor of engineering and economics, a consultant with small business owners, along with teaching at Victoria Sailing since 2012 (and only doing so because of great owners, instructors and students) John's thoughts? As a physics major, sailing is physics, and physics is fun…so beware of the physics lessons. I get a kick out of helping people reach their goals - learning to sail, learning to sail the boat they already bought, gaining qualifications to charter around the world, or, just to sailing off to the horizon on their own boat and dreams. It's all about learning through experience and developing confidence. John is blessed with a super supportive wife and 2 great adult children.

Ken learned to sail in Tech dinghies at MIT decades ago. In Chicago he learned prudence on Lake Michigan, having been dismasted when others had reefed. He owned a 22' Ensign on Lake Dillon for 5 years and also enjoyed sailing bigger boats in California and Florida. He skippered many bareboat charters in the Caribbean (BVI, Martinique, St. Martin, Grenada), Turkey, Thailand (Phuket), and Tahiti (Bora Bora). He became a Certified US Sailing Instructor (2000), an ASA Keelboat Certified Sailing Instructor (2007), as well as a Coastal Navigation Instructor (2013). He enjoyed volunteering with Community Sailing of Colorado for 20 years. He helped teach the in-person Coastal Navigation class with Jim Cook from 2011-2016, and has been an on-the-water instructor for the Victoria Sailing School since 2004. Now a retired retinal surgeon, Ken and his wife Sue enjoy Colorado throughout the seasons.

Mike first started sailing in Hawaii in the early 1970's where he was stationed in the U.S. Navy. He bought his first boat (a Catalina 22) when he got of the navy and sailed all around the metro Detroit area where he lived, mostly sailing on Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, along with many small internal lakes around Michigan. After moving to Colorado, he started his sailing here with his two young sons (at the time) on a Hobie Cat. After a few years he bought a Macgregor 26x, then a Catalina 270 (which he still owns). He is also the owner of a Windrider 17 Trimaran. He has also owned and raced many other dinghies from a Man O War to a JY-15. For a few years he even owned a Catalina 350 which he lived on in the winter and sailed all around Florida from Miami thru the Keys and back up to Tampa. Mike is currently very active in Colorado Sail and Yacht Club (former Commodore). He races both his Windrider on Tuesday evening dinghy racing and his Catalina 270 on Wednesday evenings. He has also raced in many other areas including Lake Dillon, CO and Charleston, SC along with some in the Caribbean. He joined VSS as an instructor three years ago. Mike is a retired Air Traffic Controller. You will find him several days a week on Chatfield either sailing, teaching or on a paddle board with his English Setter, Remington. Mike and Remi also visit two hospitals a week visiting patients, as Remi is a Therapy Dog.

Tibor is the current owner of the Victoria Sailing School, together with his wife Erica. They also run Colorado Watersports together. He learned to sail through the Victoria Sailing School, from its founder, Jim Cook. Since then he has been sailing and racing extensively. You can find him at Chatfield racing nearly every Wednesday night during the season. He is currently teaching our basic on the water courses, as well as our Diesel Maintenance Course, and Racing and Spinnaker courses. He has offshore experience, most recently doing a delivery from St. Maarten to Newport, RI (1600nm!). When he is not sailing, you find Tibor out on a lacrosse floor or field. He is currently coaching at Arapahoe High School in Denver, and is playing semi-pro box lacrosse as well. He is also a current member of the Belgium National Lacrosse Team.

Wick is an experienced sailor who has been teaching for VSS for many years. He sails regularly as a bareboat charter skipper and as a senior yacht delivery crew member and first mate. He has sailed many waters domestically and globally and has logged over 26,000 coastal and offshore miles during two-dozen deliveries, including transatlantic and numerous other, long oceanic passages. As a retired CU dean and professor and PBS station CEO, Wick brings to his sailing instruction many of the skills he honed over the years as a university teacher and non-profit leader. He uses a highly interactive method on the dock and on water, helping students quickly gain confidence in the basics as well as advanced concepts and skills. He thoroughly enjoys working with students of all ages and backgrounds and is always impressed by how diverse, motivated and eager to learn they are. Wick sees students as future skippers of their own boats and charters. So, he encourages them to teach one another and takes great pleasure in seeing them progress rapidly from hesitant novices to accomplished sailors. He is often heard to say that "My most successful practical classes are those in which for an entire session I have not once myself had to lay hands on a line, tiller or engine." Wick has lived, studied, worked, lectured and otherwise traveled widely in the US and abroad. He is married, has three children, five grandchildren and two cats.