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Dean’s love of sailing began when his older brother purchased a small sailboat. He singlehanded it in Lake Merced with the wind at his back but when he got to the end of the lake, he couldn’t figure out how to return. (Since then he’s learned about the no-go zone.)

After taking time out for school, family and career, Dean returned to his first love with the purchase of a 17 ft. dingy which was followed by 5 other sailboats. In the late eighties, he took his 45 ft. cutter to Mexico and the South Seas for a year, and yes, it is as great as advertised. When he reluctantly returned he scaled down to a 37 footer and began racing on the Bay and Ocean. Still scaling down, he now has a 28 ft. daysailer, which is perfect for his kind of sailing. He have also chartered in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean and has done some deliveries on the East Coast.

He is a self-taught sailor, but as an instructor he has come to appreciate the value of a systematic and comprehensive sailing program, as offered by Club Nautique. “I can say that I get as much, if not more, out of teaching and meeting new people as my students hopefully get from me.”