Our Team

 

Wayne Ettle

Wayne started in boating at the Orange County Sea Scouts’ base in 1972, when Southern California was rich with elegant wooden watercraft. To be able to sail aboard these vessels he had to help maintain them. He learned to scrub, paint, varnish, polish, and carry out all the duties of an able crewman. He also had to keep things working. The captains and owners of the boats he crewed aboard noticed that he had a natural ability to fix or rebuild just about anything. They were willing to pay him for his services as well as invite him sailing.

In 1976 he started his own business helping friends maintain, repair, and restore their classic watercraft. Wayne has the greatest admiration and respect for the designers, builders, and owners of the traditional vessels he has worked on. As a master shipwright, he would like to share his knowledge and the skill.

Beau Vrolyk

Beau is a lifelong sailor who cherishes his time at sea. He cruised from Los Angeles to the Caribbean in the early ‘70s and from San Francisco to New Zealand in the early ‘90s. Now, Beau sails his Alden schooner Mayan along the coast of California. Additionally, he races his Moore-24 from his home port of Santa Cruz, CA. Beau is a member of the Cruising Club of America, St. Francis Yacht Club, and Santa Cruz Yacht Club — and is actively involved in all three organizations.

Before retiring in 2017, Beau worked for over 45 years in senior management at numerous technology companies as small as a private equity firm. He spent a decade helping small companies become large through his personal investments of time and money. Beau is currently a Board member of four organizations with a focus on highly disruptive technologies and organizations which advance the sport of sailing.

A father of four and grandfather of three, Beau and his wife Stacey are dedicated to preserving our maritime heritage for generations to come.

Kurt Zabriskie

Kurt is a lifelong sailor, having spent 45 years sailing the coastline between San Fransisco and Cabo San Lucas. He has sailed aboard boats ranging from fully-rigged ships to his own Perry-designed Islander 34.

Kurt worked for the Beverly Hills Water Department for 31 years. His time is now spent on the water.

Noah Peffer

Noah relocated to Southern California after college and pursued a master’s degree in fine arts at California Institute of the Arts.  While at Cal Arts he lived aboard several sailboats and cruised the coast of Southern California and Mexico. Noah has been a lecturer at Cal State Long Beach in the Art Department and is currently a lecturer at University of Southern California in the Nautical Science department where he works with students in seamanship, navigation, and sailing.

Randy Peffer

Randall Peffer has been the captain of the research schooner Sarah Abbot for more than three decades. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, mostly in tradition working vessels.

He is the author of nine crime/suspense novels and eleven nonfiction books. Almost all of his books have a maritime setting. Captain Peffer’s Civil War naval trilogy Southern Seahawk features the Confederate raider Raphael Semmes, the most successful naval predator in history. His book, Watermen, a documentary of the lives of the Chesapeake's fishermen was Maryland Book of the Year. In addition, he has authored of over 350 travel-lifestyle features for magazines like National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, Reader's Digest, Islands, Sail, Wooden Boat and the US major metro dailies.

In 2015 he retired after thirty-seven years of teaching writing and literature at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.

Mike Fabian

Mike Fabian is a life-long mariner, a dedicated historian of Southern California maritime life, a sailor with truly global experience, and the owner/master of the ketch Resolute. Resolute, built in 1936, is one of the grand dames of Southern California yachting and a charter vessel that sails from San Pedro. A well-known figure on the Southern California waterfront.