meet
the
crew
With over 200,000 nautical miles of combined sailing experience, these pirates in crime are excited about empowering YOU to start your sailing journey! Learn from them in our liveaboard sailing course in Mexico!
CAPTAIN BRADY TRAUTMAN
More commonly known as Señor Brady, this salty pirate has been cruising around the globe for over a decade across the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
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As a seasoned captain, trusty weather man, certified dive instructor and lover of burritos, he has sailed over 80,000+ nautical miles, exploring 45 countries.
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Brady holds his US Coast Guard 100 Ton captains license and has worked on vessels ranging from 48-150 ft.
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You can always count on Brady for a
good time, cool head and the inside scoop.
Connect with Brady on Instagram
CAPTAIN ALEX BLUE
Alex, aka Blue, was led to the ocean by her love of photography and traveling. She lives to share the ocean's beauty both above and below the surface.
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Her sailing adventures started with a rag tag crew in South America, which eventually led to a career and obtaining her US Coast Guard Captains License. Along with being a dive enthusiast, filmmaker, avid snowboarder and cowgirl, she has crossed the Atlantic Ocean three times racking up 30,000 nautical miles.
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Blue's natural ability to teach with patience and kindness creates an atmosphere that is both engaging and fun!
Connect with Blue on Instagram
CAPTAIN heather richards
Heather is a USCG Captain, live-aboard mother of three, and has been sailing since the age of 4! She raced competitively on the Boston University sailing team, has worked for the US Navy in Japan, Sail Carribean Voyages, Modern Sailing School, Tall Ship Matthew Turner, the Saint Francis Yacht Club, and even raced with the America’s Cup.
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In 2014 she purchased and refit her own sailboat, and lives aboard with her 3 children in a maritime co-op in Sausalito. Heather is passionate about volunteering with youth programs and welcoming people of color who have traditionally not had access to sailing.
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Heathers safety record, attention to customer service, and wide range of experience in a huge variety of vessels is rare among sailors, and even more rare among women in this industry!
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Read more about Heather here.
captain jon totten
Jon was born and raised in Wisconsin where fell in love with the great outdoors as a young boy. He headed west to Idaho at the age of 18 in search of a higher education and a career in the wilderness. Idaho’s vast mountains, rivers, and lakes didn’t let him down. Upon graduation from the University of Idaho, Jon became a professional outdoor educator with the North Idaho College Outdoor Pursuits program where he spent 12 years leading countless adventures and falling deeply in love with sailing. Jon would eventually earn his USCG Captain’s license and leave college to work as a professional sailor, piloting boats in the San Juan Islands of Washington state and throughout the Caribbean Sea.
Jon has returned to North Idaho and created a non-profit named 'Dogsmile Adventures,' an organization offering therapeutic sailing opportunities for EVERYONE!
Read more about Jon here.
CAPTAIN Austin Long
Austin grew up in North Carolina where he fell in love with sailing at a young age. He would spend summers sailing with his father on a Catalina 27', and taught sailing at a summer camp on the NC coast. It was there that he found his stoke for all things outdoors and his love for teaching. He's spent every summer on the water sailing since he was 8 years old!
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At 23, he moved to Mammoth Lakes, to ski and work in the marketing department in the winter, while sailing and managing the marina in the summer. He later moved to Lake Tahoe where he stepped up his sailing game to Captain a 55' sailing cat and a Santa Cruz 50'. His time with Cruisers Academy has proven him to be a knowledgeable, patient and enthusiastic instructor.
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When he's not on the lake, Austin loves climbing mountains with his dog 'Sailor', eating tacos, and telling awful dad jokes!
Captain Tripp Brower
Prentice “Tripp" is the executive director, captain, and co-founder of Apparent Winds, a nonprofit organization dedicated to research and storytelling while circumnavigating.
Tripp grew up in South Carolina, by the waterways in the Lowcountry region. Driven by a passion for water, he founded the Lowcountry Maritime School and nonprofit organization in 2014 to teach young people math and science by building boats.
By 2019, he decided to take his love for exploring the natural world one step further and set sail on a two-year circumnavigation aboard SV Resilience. Onboard, he and his crew have continued to expand their marine research efforts, form new partnerships, and build educational content that they can share with students around the world.
Trip is a natural born leader, a caring teacher, and master of many trades!
CAPTAIN Kiera Rumbough
Kiera is the research biologist and coordinator for nonprofit organization, Apparent Winds. Kiera graduated cum laude at Miami University with a Bachelor of Sciences in Marine Science and Biology.
After completing her studies, she joined a shark research vessel with the Coastal Marine Education and Research Academy in Tampa Bay, volunteered for the Lonely Whale Foundation, started a surf company in her home state of New York, and gained tons of boating experience working aboard private yachts.
Kiera is an intelligent, kind, and talented sailor and brings a lively energy onboard.
captain Phoebe Rogers
Phoebe grew up splashing on the shores of Lake Tahoe and exploring this magnificent basin that she’s called home for her whole life. She started racing sailboats in North Lake in 2018 as crew on a Melges 24 and has fallen deeply in love with the sport ever since!
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She brings many years of experience as an outdoor educator to our crew and has a zest for connecting people with the outdoors. Phoebe is an environmentalist at heart and is energized by using outdoor connection and people-nature relationships to inspire us to protect the places we love and also to deepen our connections with ourselves and others.
Phoebe has been instrumental to our therapy sailing program and completed her First Mate training on Lintika in Mexico!
Kira KESSEL
Kira grew up in the Bay Area where she first learned to sail (and race) on smaller dinghies. During the summers she frequently visited Tahoe, boating on the lake and enjoying the outdoors.
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After graduating from UC Berkeley, she spent six months sailing from San Francisco to New Zealand with family and friends. Although she had spent some time on catamarans in the BVI and French Polynesia, and knew she loved life on the water, this trip solidified her passion for boat life.
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Following that trip, she spent the following half of the year in Australia, connecting with other sailors and upon returning to the U.S., completed the CA-1 course on Lake Tahoe.
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After getting to know the crew at Cruisers, we asked her to come aboard and help write and run business operations. Kira's love for the environment, adventurous spirit, and experience sailing have made her a great addition to the team!
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