The Ocean Coach Story
Same Questions, Different Coffee Shop
How do I know when it’s safe to cross the bar? What if it gets rough while I am out there? These are questions I heard again and again from frustrated captains, who wanted to go out on the ocean, but didn’t know how.
I was a well-known seminar speaker at boat shows in Oregon, so captains came to me. There was no other class or program available. I ended up meeting dozens of eager boaters in cafes and teaching them about seamanship and crossing the bar, for the price of a coffee.
But I knew they needed so much more, so I launched Ocean Coach in 2018. At first it was private coaching at my kitchen table. I transitioned to coaching on Zoom in 2020, and in 2022 I created E-classes to reach a wider audience.
Ocean Coach graduates now number over 300, and it’s pure joy to watch them Become the Captain Everyone Trusts.
My Why
My Why boils down to three principles, which I tacked to my studio wall several years ago. They’ve stood the test of time.
MY PHILOSOPY
The quickest path to mastery is to learn about the ocean itself - wind, swell, tide and the structure of bars and inlets. WIth this foundational knowlege in place, clients suddenly see the entire tapestry of interlocking factors that determine sea state, and when it will be safe and pleasant to cross the bar and go to sea in their own boat.
MY ROOTS
I was in the ocean 5 days a week for 15 years while growing up in a Southern California beach town, skimboarding, fishing, rowing, snorkeling, and especially body boarding. At the dinner table, my nose sometimes spontaneously discharged several ounces of salt water, which is pretty common among surfers after a day in the waves.
I did some dumb things like body boarding in hurricane surf (Hurricane Norman almost killed me), and catching sharks, like this 8 foot hammerhead, from a 12 foot garage-sale rowboat. But the lessons I learned about wind, swell, currents and tide are deep in my bones and form the basis of much of my boating and beach safety teaching today.
Since then I’ve had many boats, a few of which I built. My current boats are a 22 foot surf-launch power dory, and a 14 foot, 90 pound rowing wherry.
ARE YOU BEING CALLED?
If the ocean is calling your name, you are one of her chosen few. If you turn away, you may always feel the pang of loss and what could have been. But if you heed the call and learn the skills, you will become a true mariner, and go to sea for adventures beyond your imagination.
Most people will never be called. if you’ve landed here on this page, there’s a good chance you aren’t most people. If you know, you know.