SAILING SCHOOL INSTRUCTORS

NANCY DeVRIES

For the last six years Nancy has taught new Beneteau owners and Basic Sailing classes for Great Hudson. She has a USCG Master 100 ton license, and is also a nationally certified Emergency Medical Technician. During the last 25 years she has owned four sailboats which she has cruised and raced extensively in waters between New York City and Nantucket. She has more than 40,000 blue water miles including offshore racing to Bermuda, Cuba, and Mexico.

Nancy has sailed three trans-atlantics, the coasts of Sweden and Norway, the Mediterranean, and Australia. From 2000-2004 she was a part-time coach for NY Maritime College offshore sailing team.

DOUGLAS MAASS

This will be my 51st year of sailing, having started as a camper on Cape Cod sailing Turnabout prams and Mercury sloops. I have owned eight sailboats, ranging from a Mini-fish to a 31-footer, and currently sail a Pacific Seacraft Dana out of Ossining.

I've done deliveries on a J-42, crewed on the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and taught sailing and seamanship on the 42-foot gaff tops'l sloop Sojourner Truth for 13 years. I spout Hudson River geography, history, lore and legend at the drop of a hat. This will be my fourth season teaching Basic Sailing for Great Hudson.

EROL BAYAR

Erol has been an avid sailor since childhood. As a teen he learned from Captain Jean Lacombe on Long Island Sound who was among the first to enter in the single handed trans-Atlantic race on his 24’ cruiser, along with Francis Chichester in 1960, and Eric Tabarly in 1964.

Erol has sailed on oceans from the Aegean, North Sea, Bay of Biscay, to Maine’s beautiful Down East coast and has logged over 20,000 nautical miles. He holds a US Coast Guard Master's Captain License with Sailing endorsement. When not sailing Erol runs a CAD/CAM software consulting business in Vermont.

BILL SNEDDON

"Fair tides and always the wind at your back!" Captain William Sneddon first learned to sail on a neighbor's Sunfish on Lake Erie. The first boat of his own was a trailer-sailor San Juan '21, "Grande Pause", sailing the shifting winds of the lakes in Tennessee. He moved to his current Pearson 28 "Wind Dream", after moving to New York City.

Bill qualified for his USCG Captain's License in 1991 and became an American Sailing Association certified instructor in 1997 through the Bare Boat Chartering & Coastal Navigation levels. In addition to teaching ASA sailing lessons & running charters for Great Hudson Sailing Center, he has skippered or crewed for boat deliveries along the Atlantic coast from Woods Hole to Travis McGee's slip in Ft. Lauderdale. Bill enjoys sailing the Hudson River, New York Harbor, and Long Island Sound with his first mate, Margaret.

KATHY CREEDEN - OFFICE MANAGER

Kathy Creeden is the Office Manager and Sailing School Coordinator. She has wide ranging responsibilities from documenting warranty claims to writing the newsletter. In the sailing season, she books sailing lessons and arranges for instructors, as well as teaching Basic Sailing and Coastal Navigation courses. She holds a USCG license and is an ASA certified instructor.

She began sailing with her husband, Tom, in the BVI in 1986. To date she has chartered from many of the islands in the Caribbean. From 1986 to 1995 she was the mainsail trimmer and navigator aboard “Quetzal” a J-92 campaigned heavily on Long Island Sound. Kathy and Tom own “Tenacious”, a Tartan 28 berthed at the Haverstraw Marina.

TOM CREEDEN - SERVICES

Tom is ASA-certified instructor teaching all levels from Basic Keelboat through Coastal Navigation and the Radar endorsement. He is responsible for providing 4-5 hour new owner orientation with briefing of all on-board systems and new owner training in boat handling under power and sail. He a Raymarine certified electronics installer and does new boat rigging and commissioning.

In 2006 Tom won the Beneteau USA Service Dedication Award given to only one service person out of all US dealerships, and routinely delivers new boats for boat shows and new owners. He holds a USCG Masters 50 Ton license.