One thing which makes Manhattan Sailing School special is having some of the best sailing instructors in the country. You can learn more about our great instructors below.

I like to think that I’ve always been drawn to water sports because I grew up in a desert. For many years I gravitated to multi-day canoe and rafting expeditions in Minnesota, Colorado and New Mexico. When I moved to the west coast, I took up with sea kayaking expeditions off the coast of Oregon and around Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The sailing bug first bit me as crew on a stretch of the Inside Passage, crossing blue water between Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii, Canada’s westernmost island. But when I found myself living in New York City, Manhattan Yacht Club provided an environment where I could develop as a sailor within a fun and varied sailing community that offered experiences skippering in different kinds of fleets, including cruising and racing on J24s, J105s, International One Designs (IODs), 12 Meter boats, Sunfish, and organizing bareboat charters of 45-50’ monohulls and catamarans (during the club’s annual Caribbean Regatta in the British Virgin Islands-BVIs). One thing I’ve discovered – sailing is a perfect lifelong pursuit. No matter how much you learn, there is still a lifetime of problem solving and adventure ahead of you. Fortunately, sailors love sharing their knowledge of problems tacked and solved. That’s why I have grown to love teaching and have received ASA certifications to teach basic keelboat, coastal cruising, coastal navigation and bareboat chartering, as well as a US Coast Guard 25 Ton Master’s License with a sailing endorsement. For me, few things are more fun than sharing a beautiful weekend on New York harbor, as students progress to take the helm and trim the sails with more and more skill and confidence. This year, I’m honored to be the primary instructor bringing Basic Coastal Cruising (ASA 103) back to Manhattan Sailing School once a month during the summer. As I learned, if you love sailing and apply yourself, the horizon’s the limit!

I grew up in Poland where I learned how to sail at the age of 5. My parents owned 30ft wooden yacht and were very active at the local yacht club. As a child I was helping my father renovate club boats. Every weekend after fiberglassing and painting we would sail for hours on 20ft Omega Sailboats. Summers we spent on our yacht sailing through beautiful Masurian Lakes. That is how I felt in love with sailing. When I moved to the city in 2020 Manhattan Yacht Club offered me an opportunity to share my experience with people who want to learn how to sail. Since then everyday is an adventure. Working for the club opened me up a lot of opportunities. My favorite sailing memories besides teaching every weekend are delivering 157ft mega yacht Arabella from Annapolis to New York and renovating old sunfish sailboat to win a regatta. I love sailing anything from the small dinghy to a nice, big yacht. New York Harbor in my opinion is one of the best places to sail in the world – just look at the views!

I am a sailor from New York City. I look forward to teaching for my third summer at the Manhattan Yacht Club. Before teaching, I myself was a sailor in the teen program at MYC. I have been sailing and racing for as long as I can remember. My favorite places to sail are the Long Island Sound and the Virgin Islands, but sunset races on the Hudson River are also at the top. I grew up learning to sail on a classic yawl and later spent two summers as an Inshore Match Racing Acorn at Oakcliff Sailing. I have also raced on 420’s, Lasers, Thistles, and IOD’s. When I’m not sailing, I attend Connecticut College majoring in psychology and French and try to travel and sail the world as much as possible

My fondest childhood memories are of spending my days exploring Long Island Sound and nights falling asleep on the deck of Lief, a 33’ sloop sailboat. As a teenager I spent time certifying as a NAUI Master Diver and hanging out in Florida on dive boats, shark diving, and volunteering with marine mammal rescue teams. After returning to New York, I longed to be back on the water, joined a local sail club and began racing in New York Bay. I now sail the Lief sloop out of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Sailing is one of man’s oldest endeavors and has barely changed since we took to the sea thousands of years ago. Sailing offers something for everyone. It is therapy. It is sport. It is leisure. It is adventure.  When I’m not sailing or teaching people to sail, I give back to the community as a Coast Guard Auxiliarist with the Governor’s Island Flotilla and by volunteering at the South Seaport Museum. I look forward to seeing you out on the water!

I grew up in NJ and by high school you would find me building BMX dirt jumps in Montevideo, Uruguay. So I always liked adventurous sports! I am fluent in Spanish and went on to study math and mechanical engineering. I progressed into video production as a partner and lead cinematographer for the past 10 years. I’ve always like technical pursuits. Early on I was drawn to sailing even though no one else in my family sailed. The magic of it and the feeling of freedom is what keeps me so passionate about sailing. I started out owning a Prindle 16 beach catamaran and progressed through various trailer sailboats. But I always wanted to have a bigger monohull to continue exploring. I’ve sailed offshore as crew on other vessels. Some recent trips include Bermuda to Antigua, Palermo to Greece & the coast of Spain. I currently own a Tartan 34c, a lovely S&S design. MYC is such a special place to learn and to grow. I’m continuously learning and am passionate about being a sailing instructor. It really can be a wonderful hobby, sport and way of life. Few sports will bring you more stories, not just to hear, but to be making of your own.

My love for sailing started 51 years ago in Japan as a young 18 year-old. My first encounter was a Sparkman & Stephens 30 racing boat. From there, I travelled to the states where I’ve enjoyed bareboating since 1985. In 1988, I became a member of the Manhattan Yacht Club, which makes me one of the longest active members. During those years, I’ve chartered sailboats in the Northeast (Newport RI), the Caribbean (British Virgin Islands, Bahamas), the islands of Southeast Asia (Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Chang, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore), and more recently the Greek Islands and Croatia. In all, I’ve had the enjoyment of chartering over 30 times. In addition, six years ago, I finally accomplished my life long goal of crossing the Atlantic ocean from the Canary Islands to Martinique. In 2008, I became a syndicate member of the 12 Meter Program, and a year later, I sailed in Newport Harbor as the bow man which was a very exciting moment in my life. In total, I have enough sea miles and endeavor to continue for as long as possible.

I grew up in Toledo, OH on the shores of Lake Erie. My family has always been avid sailors and signed me up for our local yacht club’s junior sailing program at the age of 5 where I learned sailing and racing basics on Optis, FJs, and 420s. As I got older, I began racing Lasers around Lake Erie and became an instructor at North Cape Yacht Club where I taught junior sailors and was a coach for the club’s dinghy racing program. Throughout college I raced Thistles and took over our family’s Soverel 26 racing and cruising the Western Lake Erie Basin. I joined the Manhattan Yacht Club after moving to New Jersey in 2019. Sharing my love of sailing and being on the water is important to me and in 2020 I was fortunate enough to become a sailing instructor with the Manhattan Sailing School teaching the ASA 101 course. Since joining MYC, I have become a club skipper, am active in the weekday J24 races, and race my Sunfish, Ol’ Sinky, in the Club’s Frostbite Series to keep me sailing all year long! When I’m not racing or teaching you can find me on Hootenanny, my wife and mines Pearson 31-2, on the Honorable William Wall taking in the views and cocktails, or on the MYC grounds enjoying the evenings and weekends with all the other members!