SAN JUAN YACHTING - Key Persons
As a Bellingham native, I couldn't help but be surrounded by a life full of mountains, rivers, lakes, and the San Juan archipelago. I was introduced to sailing when I was 15, the same year I started working at San Juan Sailing. After working here for a (read more)
few years I started earning my ASA certifications, participating in regattas, and weeknight races. I was fully emersed in the marine community and couldn't get enough.
After graduating college, I took the opportunity to travel aboard. The experience opened my eyes to new perspectives and resulted in an immense amount of personal growth. "Leaving" allows me to reset and return home feeling humbled and appreciative for my friends, family, and the beauty of where I live. Travelling has shaped my journey and has become a very important aspect of my life. A few years ago, I visited one of our instructors in the BVI's to observe a class being taught on a catamaran. I saw how traveling and sailing could be intermixed. The realization encouraged me to pursue sailing as my career.
Currently, I'm working towards earning USCG Captains License, which will open doors to more opportunities to be on the water. I'm planning to participate in the ASA instructor clinic offered by San Juan Sailing, to become a sailing instructor and over time transition into a delivery captain, which will allow me to incorporate travel. I've had the chance to build a family, support team, and network in the marine community to make these dreams become a reality.
To me there is nothing quite as wonderful as an evening at anchor in a secluded cove. Over the years I did some dinghy sailing and keelboat racing, but I am a cruiser at heart, and while I prefer the quiet of a sailboat underway I also (read more)
As a native Northwesterner, I grew up sailing on a Cal 29, with long day sails on Lake Washington and summers cruising the San Juan Islands, Gulf Islands and north to Desolation Sound. My father later outfitted a Perry
design 48 sailboat, so boat construction was often a topic of conversation around my childhood home.
I married into a large sailing family and to a husband who would pick going for a sail as one of the best things to do on a windy day and my love for sail adventures continued to my adult years. The only problem was that my primary role was that of crew and I found fear creep in (that wasn't there before) when my young children were on the boat, possibly because I had three children in three years - two being very active twin boys!
That all changed when I joined the San Juan Sailing Team in 2006 and was trained through the American Sailing Association. Even though I had more than 25 years of sailing experience, it wasn't until I learned again from the beginning, and from ASA certified instructors, that I moved on to becoming a confident and far more excited-about-sailing sailor. I am now certified with the American Sailing Association through Bareboat Cruising and as an instructor through Basic Sailing and serve as the director of San Juan Sailing and Yachting School.
Living in Whatcom County since 1999, I have found myself loving everything about the outdoors; especially in places of nature surrounded by water. My hobbies include spending time with my daughter running, hiking and just being in beautiful (read more)
places of nature. On the side, I am a volunteer coach, with my daughters help, for Girls on the Run program through the YMCA and enjoy seeing these growing young ladies challenge themselves mentally through trying to achieve lap goals. As a mother who runs in annual races, it's fulfilling to be a part of helping these girls achieve this challenge of running a 5k at the end of the season.
After graduating from Western WA University with my BA in business administration, I went into management at Rite Aid and was a store manager for about ten years. I later took a second part time job cleaning for a commercial cleaning business and a year into that I was offered a management position with that company. After working as a cleaning manager for 3 years, an old employee of mine approached me and informed me that she had recommended me to San Juan Sailing. While I was not looking for a job at the time I was immediately interested because I have always wanted to learn about boating.
Since I began in May of 2019, I have achieved my ASA 101 and 103 credentials and completed an 8 week power boat class to obtain my WA state boaters certification. I am looking forward to continuing to learn and enjoying many more boating adventures ahead. We'll see where the breeze takes me!
My parents are entirely responsible for instilling in me my passion for boating - and I'm 100% thankful that they did!! I have raced, cruised, instructed, worked and played on all sizes of sail and power boats for going on 60 years now. (read more)
Boating and aviation have been two life-long passions for me. Growing up in the Midwest, taking canoe trips on Wisconsin rivers and fishing trips to various lakes and rivers, I was always happy on the water. Following school, I pursued a 30+ year (read more)
Mike Huston originally worked in the pulp and paper industry about 9 years as an engineer, supervisor and mid-level manager. In 1984 he started NP Information Systems, a custom software development company. NPI eventually (read more)
There's something about being near the water that makes me happy. My grandfather's house in northern Wisconsin was located on a lake, and we spent my childhood summers fishing, waterskiing, and cruising in a Bayliner ski boat. (read more) I kayaked and canoed at various camps throughout schooling years, and now as an adult, I've joined my parents on several outings on San Juan Yachting vessels. The enjoyment I had from those times led to my interest in pursuing a career with San Juan Sailing & Yachting. I joined the team in December of 2020 and found my niche at the start of the 2021 season when I began working with both the School and Charter sides of the business. In August 2021 I also began taking on several Bookkeeping responsibilities. Throughout the season, I was given the opportunity to spend time on various fleet boats. In October 2021, I earned my ASA 101, 103, 104, and 118 while out on a 2-week charter with my husband, Peter, and our 3-year-old daughter, Liliana. That experience was so fun and memorable, and it became the catalyst for our family purchasing a boat of our own. In January 2022, our family bought Mirage, a Beneteau 34, and she is a charter sailboat for SJS. Our family is looking forward to many future boating vacations, and we hope others enjoy their times spent in the San Juan Islands as much as we do.
Boating and water sports have always been a part of my life. I was born in Richland, Washington and lived close the Columbia River. I first became interested in boating at the Tri-Cities Water Follies, a long-standing H1 Unlimited (read more) Hydroplane race on the Columbia. While high performance boats are fun to watch, the first time I was able to experience being out on the water was when my father purchased a 1968 Glastron with a 110 HP Mercury. This was the first boat I learned to drive and the days we spent on the water together are some of my best childhood memories. After moving to Bellingham in 2012 I began working, then enrolled in an automotive repair program. I didn't know it at the time, but these skills would be helpful working in the charter industry. After completing the program, my wife Pam and I decided to move to Vancouver, Washington for job opportunities. During our time in Vancouver my father and I purchased a C-stock hydroplane and raced on the APBA region 10 circuit for two years. A short time later, Pam and I welcomed our daughter, Liliana, into our lives. After being contacted by San Juan Sailing/Yachting with an opportunity to become a member of this amazing team, we moved back to Bellingham for the 2020 season. By the 2021 season my job shifted away from cleaning and into a fleet management role. Throughout my time here I have taken several classes including the ASA 101, 103, 104, 114, and 118. Recently I started working as an associate broker for San Juan Sailing/Yachting under the mentorship of Wes Koenig and Lothar Taylor. In January of 2022 our family was fortunate enough to begin our journey as owners of Mirage, a 2011 Beneteau 34.
As a native of Florida, most of my youth was spent with my family around the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico where I enjoyed boating, water-skiing, swimming, fishing, and Hobie-Cat sailing. At an early age, my father taught me to navigate the (read more) sandbars, islands and channels of the Intercoastal Waterways in our 22' AquaSport. I graduated from Manatee High School and continued my education at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee where I studied Natural Resources and spent my first years in a temperate climate. After leaving Sewanee, I worked at Mote Marine Laboratory (Sarasota) as a biology tech, sorting and staging ichthyoplankton, and within six months as a staff biologist involved in research of the Common Snook. This position, literally, kept my hands in, on, and around the Gulf Waters, seining for Snook, collecting plankton, monitoring water quality, and managing the research lab. Three years later I moved to Scotland to pursue a Masters of Science degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management. Upon completion, I started as a bioassay technician with an environmental engineering firm in Tallahassee and six months later I married Shayne from my hometown. Over the course of 10 years, I became a project manager and staff scientist in aquatic toxicology, our family grew to five (with a daughter and two sons) and we moved from Tallahassee to Gainesville to Jacksonville and then one giant leap to Bellingham. Our move was inspired by Bellingham's coastal location and my husband's opportunity to practice medicine! Shortly after moving to the NW, we bought a powerboat which allows us access to the beautiful marine environment of the San Juan Islands and the recreational opportunities of crabbing and camping around the many marine parks in this cruising paradise. Our family has enjoyed many bareboat sailing adventures in the warm waters of the Caribbean and the Sea of Cortez as well as staying connected with the Gulf of Mexico through our family in Bradenton. In 2016, I earned my USCG captain's license. I came to San Juan Sailing in July 2017 and have enjoyed working in the enthusiastic environment of the sailing school. Being able to share in the excitement of our sailing and yachting students has been a highlight!
I was born in Billings, Montana - you guessed it, no water. However, it all changed for the good when I was drafted in the Army and stationed at Madigan General Hospital in Seattle/Tacoma area, and worked as an x-ray tech (read more)
during my 3 years. I never went back to Montana. The water, the islands, and yes, BOATS, well, I was 'Hooked"!