Aaron loves to be in, on, or at the water’s edge.  As a boy, he learned to sail on motorless small sailing vessels such as: Sunfish, Lasers and Hobie Cats on lakes in Northern Lower Michigan. As a young man, he graduated to crewing larger sailing monohulls in the early springs and fall.  Then, during college he sailed a lot from  Newport Beach (and as far as Catalina) aboard his uncle’s 32’ Morgan S/V.  Later in college, he worked summers as a deckhand aboard a 100-passenger motor-cat in Glacier Bay, Alaska in 1990, and again aboard a 114 ft M/V in SE Alaska in 1994.  

After going to work in Corporate America and raising his kids in suburbia for 20 years, he drifted back to the water when he personally rebuilt an all-electric, solar re-generative, sailboat.  

He is now a licensed captain, with his own electric sailboat from which he does day cruises and sunset sails.  He also is an ASA certified sailing instructor and charters students (mostly), clients, family, and friends all around and through the many San Juan Islands on the Salish Sea.  

My goal as an instructor, is to get cruisers the skill set and confidence on the water to overtake my role as the ship’s skipper.  I teach and instruct from a safety-first perspective of course, but I believe sailing and cruising is learned from doing, and therefore I’m most interested in my students showing me their newly learned seamanship skills.  

Also, my personal pleasure is to incorporate the joy of sailing into my instructions.  That joy goes together with my own playful, witty, and humorous nature while trying to accommodate various definitions of fun (my own included).  

Lastly, my most proud accomplishment on the water probably always will be teaching our family’s own 4 teenagers to enjoy sailing. We have been all around and through the San Juan Islands and make Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island, WA our home port. 

I am currently looking for fair winds and following seas in warmer, winter climates.

To the Membership:

Please say hello to Aaron, Taryn, and Zoe and welcome them into our club.

In accordance with the club’s By-laws, he has completed all the requirements of sending in his application, initiation fees, photo, etc. Publishing their photo and bio is the last step in the process. After ten days for comments from the membership, the governing board will vote for membership.

Members can send comments to our Commodore, Bi Christensen.

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