Time with Windworks: Since 2012

Licenses: USCG 50 Ton Masters License, Commercial Assistance Towing, Auxiliary Sail Endorsement, Certified Professional Yacht Broker

US Sailing Certifications: Instructor, Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, Catamaran Endorsement

US Powerboating Certifications: Instructor

I enjoy teaching novice to experienced boaters how to master their vessels with the goal of making sure every client is extremely confident in their skills before leaving the dock. I found my passion in boating and love helping others to experience their own amazing adventures out on the water. You’ll find me on the docks with clients or out on the water ensuring our fleet of yachts are at peak performance.

I look forward to sailing with you soon.

Time with Windworks: Since 2007

Licenses: USCG 50 Ton Masters License.

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Cruising, and Navigation instructor;  US Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor Trainer, Catamaran Instructor

I am a Seattle native who began sailing dinghies as a kid in the San Juan Islands. Since that time I have sailed most of the Salish Sea as a cruiser. I learned how much I enjoyed sharing my passion for sailing when I volunteered to teach at the Center for Wooden Boats, in their SailNOW program. When I am not sailing I like to build small boats (up to 20′ as that is what I can fit in the garage), SCUBA diving, reading, and camping with my family.

I have been a club member since 2003 and an instructor since 2007.

Time with Windworks: Since 2008

Licenses: 50 ton Coast Guard license.

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising

I got hooked on sailing when I was a kid at summer camp, and also helping family friends cruise their boats around the East Coast, especially Rhode Island and Long Island Sound. In 1986 I was backpacking through Spain and ended up jumping on a boat sailing from Gibraltar to the Bahamas! What an adventure. Later I spent about 15 years crewing on big boats in local and national aces. Best professional achievements would be winning three National Championships on Samba Pa Ti or teaching at the Naval Academy every summer, what an honor. Probably some of the most fun I ever had sailing was racing big boats in Seattle and making (talking) my way onto some fast boats, and I also have a vague memory of skimming across the water on a Sailfish off Cape Cod.

Time with Windworks: Since 2010

Licenses: USCG 100 Ton Masters License

US SAILING Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, Coastal Navigation, Performance Sailing, Cruising Catamaran, Cruising Powerboat, Inshore Powerboat Cruising, Night Cruising, Coastal Passagemaking

A Puget Sound native, Margaret learned to sail here about 40 years ago. She’s enjoyed exploring many of the world’s top cruising destinations, and racing a variety of sailboats. Every summer, she helps lead a flotilla of recreational sail and power boats up the Inside Passage to Alaska. She also works locally to promote boating safety and women in boating.

Time with Windworks: Club member since late 1990’s; Instructor since 2007

Licenses: USCG licensed 100-ton Master of Near Coastal Waters with Sailing and Towing Endorsements

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, Coastal Navigation

I learned to sail when I was 13, began teaching sailing at 16, and became a lifelong sailor,  coastal/ocean passage cruiser, environmental and marine biologist, and outdoor educator.  I’ve sailed along North Pacific coastlines to French Polynesia and back.  And along the North Atlantic coastlines and Dalmatian Coast of Croatia.

From 2013-2017 my husband and I cruised our 1985 Passport 40 from Seattle to Maine via Central America, the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, Cuba, Bahamas and Antigua.  My homeport waters are the Salish Sea and Southeast Alaska.

As captain on a 63-foot yawl for Salish Sea Expeditions, I worked with youth in science-under-sail programs.  I continue to share my passion for science and sailing teamwork for all ages and to promote women in sailing.

Time with Windworks: Since 2008

Licenses: 50 ton Coast Guard license.

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising.

Sailing Experience: American and British Virgin Is, Trans-Atlantic, The Western Med, Hawaii, Salish Sea, U.S West Coast, With Bill, Baja West Coast, and the Sea of Cortez.

Related experience includes: 12 Years Ocean going tow boats including Alaska, Hawaii, U.S West Coast, Trans Pacific, Indian Ocean, South China Sea, Philippines, Caribbean sea, Bermuda Triangle.

Time with Windworks: Since 2007

Licenses: USCG 100-ton Master of Vessels license with Sailing Endorsement.

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Navigation, Bareboat Cruising

Elena Leonard has been teaching at Windworks Sailing Center since 2007. Growing up in Chicago, Elena started sailing on Lake Michigan at the age of 11, first on a Sunfish, then on keelboats. On her family boat she also sailed out of Charleston Harbor and Chesapeake Bay. She has been in Seattle since 1977 and has sailed extensively around the Salish Sea. She has had the good fortune of enjoying sailing across the Gulf of Alaska, down the Inside Passage, in French Polynesia, off the Greek coast, in the Aeolie Islands, and a number of times in the Caribbean. She has also sailed offshore down along both the West and East coasts numerous times.

Time with Windworks: Since 2007

Licenses: 100 ton Coast Guard license.

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat cruising. Diesel engine Instructor.

I recall someone stating that the sea has the same salt content as human blood. I found some truth in that 30 years ago on a Sunfish, and have required frequent transfusions ever since. Soon after my initial club membership in 2001, the staff of Windworks fueled that dependency by asking me to teach sailing, luring others to the windsong of the sirens. I’m an admitted sailaholic and will do my best to make you an addict when we harness the wind together. Come sail, after all, any disaster survived makes a good story.

Time with Windworks: Since 1999

Licenses: 50-Ton Master MMC w/ Sail & Towing endorsements for Inland Waters.

US Sailing certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, and Basic Keelboat Instructor.

I joined Windworks in 1999 and began sailing during my second summer in Seattle. My first distance sailing experience was a Windworks trip from Virginia to Florida. Since meeting a race boat skipper in a Windworks class, I’ve been racing sailboats for the past twelve years. I’ve bareboat chartered in the South Sound, the San Juans, and the Aegean Coast of Turkey. I’ve also sailed on the Gulf Coast of Florida, and in 2010 spent 3 weeks sailing the Coast of Chile from Puerto Montt to Ushuaia. I’ve also delivered sailboats from the US mainland to Hawaii and the British Virgin Islands.

Time with Windworks: Since 2006

Licenses: USCG 100 ton Master.

US Sailing Certifications: BKI, CI, BKIT, CIT, CoNavIT; US Powerboating Cruising Powerboat IT; intermittent sailing instructor, US Naval Academy. Catamaran Instructor.

I started sailing small boats at camp as a teen, then continued racing on small lakes in the Midwest. I discovered the fun of teaching at a community sailing club in Chicago. Upon moving the the Northwest, I eagerly embraced the cruising opportunities of the Salish Sea. My US SAILING duties take me to other parts of the country, as well. At home on Whidbey Island, I enjoy a powerboat for fishing and crabbing. In my other life, I’m a photographer for publication and fine art.

Time with Windworks: Since 2011

Licenses: USCG OUPV Inland Waters

US Sailing certifications: Basic Keelboat (Instructor), Basic Cruising (Instructor), Bareboat Cruising (Instructor), Coastal Navigation, Coastal Passage Making

Giorgio joined Windworks in 2011 as a member and began working towards his USCG OUPV since day one. He’s sailed throughout the Puget Sound, San Juans, British Columbia, Catalina,  Florida Gulf Coast, British Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.  He teaches Navigation & Piloting (N&P) along with Basic Keelboat (BK), Basic Bruising (BC) and Basic Bareboat (BBC). He enjoys organizing docking,  anchoring and crew overboard clinics and overnights to the local spots in our beautiful Puget Sound and San Juan waters.

Time with Windworks: Since 2017

Licenses: USCG 50 Ton Masters License with Sailing and Towing Endorsement

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, Coastal Navigation

For as long as I can remember, I dreamt of sailboats and of sailing.  I had my first sail on a dinghy in Cape Town (South Africa) in 1997 and was hooked immediately.

I moved from Cape Town to Seattle 17 years ago and learned to sail keelboats with Windworks in 2003.  My interest in sailing got stronger, and after completing my Bareboat Certification I purchase my first sailboat.  I have been a sailboat owner ever since, currently sailing a 34 foot Sabre that I rescued and fixed up.  I have been cruising the Puget Sound, the San Juan Islands and the Canadian Gulf Islands for the past 13 years with my family.  My son was only 4 weeks old when he had his first trip to the San Juan islands.

Time with Windworks: Since 2016

Licenses: USCG Master License 50T inland water with sailing and towing endorsements

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising,

I am a Seattle native. After earning a degree in electronic engineering, I left the Seattle area in 1969 for New York, Canada, and Portland OR. I retired from a career in electronic engineering in 2010 and ended up back in Seattle. I began sailing at age 15 when I built a sailing surfboard. I have owned and rebuilt sailboats in New York, Canada, and Portland. I expanded my knowledge of boats through experience, Power Squadron classes, Seminars, and ABYC. I have the transited the Champlain and the Erie Canals, and sailed on Lake Ontario. My current boat is a 36-foot ketch which I have owned for 18 years. I have sailed it and other boats on the Columbia River, and the Pacific coast from San Francisco to the West coast of Vancouver Island. I spend most of my summers exploring the magical Salish sea. I feel at home in the boating community and enjoy helping others initiate their journey into the amazing adventures of sailing.

Time with Windworks: Since 2019

Licenses: USCG 50 Ton Masters License with Sailing and Great Lakes Endorsements.

US Sailing certifications: Basic Keelboat

I learned to sail when I was about eight and my dad bought a Sunfish that we raced it on a lake in Michigan. I was hooked right away with the feeling of skimming across the water with the wind in my hair. I moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington and started racing big boats off of Shilshole The summer after my senior year my boyfriend and I built a catamaran. Eventually, a career in global health intervened but I would hitch a ride on a sailboat whenever I could. I’ve cruised on the Great Lakes, the Salish Sea and in Tahiti; sailed on five continents, and raced off the east coast of Africa. Sailing on the Salish Sea is honestly world-class sailing.

In 2013 I started teaching sailing at the Center for Wooden Boats and my passion for teaching sailing was ignited. I love introducing others to sailing and seeing the joy on their faces when a new world opens up to them.

Time with Windworks: Since 2020

Licenses: USCG OUPV Inland Waters

US Sailing Instructor Certifications: Basic Keelboat

I learned to sail at age 6 on the island of Guam with a Sunfish design. While living in Nashville, I sailed a Capri 22 on the lake reservoir for 5 years. Then I moved to the Tennessee river with a Beneteau 32 for the next 6 years.

Since moving to Seattle in 2019, I joined WindWorks as a Capri Club member, sailing Puget Sound and the San Juan islands for 75 days in my first year. I enjoy sharing the magic of sailing with first-time students in the Basic Keelboat series.

Sailing Instructor – Gordon Bitter

Time with Windworks: Since 2007

Licenses: USCG OUPV

US Sailing Certifications: Basic Keelboat, Basic Cruising, Bareboat Cruising, Coastal Navigation, Coastal Passage Making

Other Certifications: International Short Range Certificate, German SKS

Gordon started sailing in Germany and his first day on the water was a trip from Stralsund (Germany) to Bornholm (Denmark) in Beaufort force 8 winds. He joined Windworks in 2007 as a member and became an instructor in 2019. He has sailed throughout the Puget Sound, San Juan Islands and British Columbia and truly enjoys sailing in the Pacific Northwest. Gordon also charters all over the world and has sailed in the Baltic Sea, North Sea and Greece. Other locations include the Windward Islands, Spanish Virgin Island (PR) and French Polynesia. While still enjoying the member trips within the PNW and teaching new sailors his personal learning focuses on Celestial Navigation and Storm Tactics.