Cruiser's Workshop

Captain John Martino holds a 500 Gross Ton, All-Oceans captain's license from the US Coast Guard. He is an experienced professional captain with a 20-year background in marine training, as well as more than 1500 sea days upon waters ranging from the Great Lakes to Panama. John has served as captain on ocean-going vessels up to 105 feet, and has done extensive yacht delivery work.

As founder and president of Annapolis School of Seamanship, he produces and leads courses ranging from basic navigation and seamanship for recreational boaters to professional mariner training for licensed captains up to 200 gross tons. John also writes boat reviews for Chesapeake Bay Magazine.

Currently the electronics editor of SAIL magazine and the technical editor of Practical Sailor, Ralph Naranjo is also finishing up a seamanship text book to be published by McGraw-Hill. During his ten year stint as the Vanderstar Chair at the US Naval Academy, he augmented safety and seamanship training and played a key role in the development of the new sail training sloops purchased by the Navy.

His sailing background includes a five year family voyage around the world, the management and development of a full service boatyard, and a regular written presence in boating magazines, journals and books. He and his wife Lenore have made two other lengthy cruises aboard Wind Shadow, a 41 foot sloop the Naranjo's have owned for over three decades. During the past 15 years he has moderated US Sailing Safety at Sea Seminars across the country, and now as an adjunct lecturer at the Annapolis School of Seamanship, he and school owner John Martino are developing a new line of courses tailored to specific cruising interests.

Lee is a USCG-certified Standard Training Certification and Watch Standing for Seafarers (STCW) instructor teaching courses designed generally for professional merchant mariners. On the other end of the spectrum, Lee is also a regular presenter at U.S. Sailing and West Marine sponsored Safety at Sea (SAS) seminars and conducts short course symposia programs at trade shows such as Sail America's Strictly Sail, catered to the recreational cruising and racing community.

Lee began his career in marine weather as a marine weather forecaster for the U.S. Navy and went on to serve as a route analyst for a large private commercial weather and ship routing firm. He then became Senior Marine Meteorologist for NOAA/NWS's Ocean Prediction Center where he provided detailed marine and oceanographic warnings, analyses and forecasts, and routing advice on a global, synoptic, and micro-scale scope, covering all oceans and seasons.

Paul Truelove is a certified navigation instructor with 20 years sailing and motorboat experience. Paul began his teaching career with the United States Power Squadron in 1987 culminating in his being named Teacher of the Year in 1991-93 and again in 1995.

Paul moved to Annapolis, MD in 2002 where he became associated with the Annapolis Sailing School and later the Annapolis School of Seamanship. He teaches navigation and cruising classes at both schools. The curriculum includes 2-day navigation seminars, as well as 5-day cruising classes. He also participates in offshore deliveries for Annapolis Yacht Management, as well as for private individuals. In 2007, Paul was certified by the American Sailing Association as a Coastal Navigation Instructor.

Frank Bohlen is a physical oceanographer and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut. An experienced offshore racer/cruiser he has cruised from the Arctic to the Caribbean, participated in 16 Newport Bermuda Races and made four transatlantic sails, two racing and two cruising. On the majority of these passages he served as navigator. In 1986 he received the Mixter Trophy as navigator of Puritan the IMS winner of the Newport Bermuda Race. Since 1998 he has been a member of the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee preparing regular Gulf Stream tutorials and analyses of conditions that are posted on the Race homepage during the months before the Race followed by a briefing of participants on expected Stream characteristics as part of the pre-Race Skipper's Meeting. The results of many of these analyses can be viewed at Bermudarace.com.

Peter Trogdon, president and owner of Weems & Plath, navigates has traveled to many of the world's best maritime museums gathering information for this talk. Weems & Plath, over 80 years old, is the world largest manufacturer of navigation instruments. Peter has been a sail and power boater all his life. He grew up sailing in the NW and now lives in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife, Cathie. They own a Zimmerman 36 which they took to the Bahamas in 2006, Maine in 2007, the Great Lakes & British Columbia in 2008. Peter has logged over 15,000 ocean miles on trips to the Panama Canal, South Pacific, North Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean.

Pam and her husband, Andy, built their own Freya 39 sloop. After taking their two small children around the world on their boat KANDARIK, Pam works at the West Marine store in Fort Lauderdale. Pam started the Outfitting Program at West Marine where she helps fellow sailors get fully prepared for offshore cruising. Pam's job at West Marine is not only to help cruisers have the right equipment for blue water sailing, but she is also a source of any information on the cruising lifestyle. West Marine sends Pam to many of the boat shows to give seminars on sailing equipment, the cruising lifestyle, and empowering women to really like sailing.

You can also become a student of Pam's at the Bitter End Yacht Clubs annual event "Women on the Water Week" where she is an instructor for women sailors who want to learn more and become confident sailors.

Bob is the owner and founder of Marine Electric Systems, LLC. He is an ABYC certified electrical technician with over 30 years experience in the industry. His company specializes in the design and installation of electrical systems for serious cruising vessels. Bob has designed systems for new custom vessels, as well as refits and upgrades for older boats. One of his largest project to date was a system upgrade for the Pride of Baltimore ll.

Bob is a local Chesapeake Bay sailor with experience ranging from aboard a ship in the military, to a number of bluewater coastal and ocean passages. In addition to his career as professional marine electrician, he designs and teaches the electrical systems courses at the Annapolis School of Seamanship. Bob also write articles for trade publications and frequently gives seminars at various boat shows, clubs and other organizations.

Matt is a lifelong boater, growing up on the Mile River sailing and fishing. He began sailing and racing at the age of 14 and quickly learned he had a passion to teach others. Matt was a sailing instructor for the Miles River Yacht Club for five years teaching beginners up to the advanced racers. After finishing two years at college Matt realized his passion was for the water, in 2006 he joined the Coast Guard. Stationed in Boothbay Harbor Maine, Matt was a boarding officer and coxswain on the 47 foot Motor Life Boat and 25 foot RBS conducting law enforcement and search and rescue missions.