Zeke‘s sailing resume includes two World Championships titles –  J/22 and Viper Classes. He also holds nine North American / National championship titles in various classes and disciplines.  He is currently active in one-design racing in J70’s, J24’s, J111’s, J22’s, J80’s, Flying Scots, and Vipers as well as the National Team Racing Circuit.

Tom Babel is a professional sailor with over forty years of sailboat racing, sail making and coaching experience. He grew up sailing in Traverse City, MI where he still lives.

Todd Berman’s sailing experience spans boats ranging from dinghies to maxis. After a successful collegiate sailing career, Todd pursued sailing racing aboard dinghies and J24s in the early 80s then progressing to IOR, IMS and IRC 50 footers. Todd worked in the Sail making industry from 1987 to 1992.

Tim has raced Stars extensively during his sailing career – Compiling top finishes in the Star Olympic Trials, World Championships, Western Hemisphere Championships, North American Championships, and District Championships. Tim is also a two-time single-handed and two-time double-handed PHRF champion in the Buffalo Harbor Sailing Club. Other offshore and one-design racing experience includes tactician, navigator, watch captain and weather router in the J/120 class, and watch captain racing from San Francisco to Tahiti.

Steve LeMay comes to us from Dallas, Texas. His experience in the J 80, J 105, Melges 32 and Mumm 30 class is extensive. Steve’s campaign as trimmer on some of the leaders in these classes only enhances his teaching ability.

Stan began sailing at the age of four at the Lavallette Yacht Club on New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay. His first races were with his older sister in a small pram. As a youth sailor, he raced in many different dinghy classes. Stan graduated from Boston University in 1999 where he was an All-American and Collegiate National Champion. He worked for a sailboat manufacturer Vanguard for two years and has been employed as a professional Sailor and Sailing coach since 2001. He has experience in many high performance classes including the Tornado, Marstrom 32, Extreme 40, and C-Class Catamaran. He has won nine major championships. His offshore accomplishments include 1st in class on the Chicago-Mackinaw Race, overall winner of the Stamford-Vineyard Race, and he was with the IMOCA 60 team Estrella Damm when they set the Trans-Atlantic record from New York to Barcelona. He also coached the Boston University Sailing team for 6 years, where five of his sailors earned All-American Honors. Stan currently works for North Sails Northeast, based in Salem, MA.

Shala started sailing a small dinghy at a very young age. Later, while working at Hobie Sports she was introduced to the Hobie 16 and was hooked on the speed and fun of racing. She has raced in numerous Hobie Cat classes at the National and world championship levels.

Rod’s racing experience covers the spectrum from Sunfish and dinghies to Vipers, J24s, Melges 32s, and Farr 39s, from small lakes to open oceans, as helmsman, tactician, and trimmer. 

Head Sailing Coach at Sacred Heart University, former Director of Offshore Sailing at the US Naval Academy, and veteran racer and cruiser, Peter has been teaching sailing and coaching racing for decades. His particular gift as a coach is teaching not just “what to do” but also how to figure it out on your own so you can solve the next challenge when you sail without a coach.
He offered the following insight into his work with North U:
“North U is a phenomenal opportunity for sailors at all levels to broaden their experience, both out on the water and ashore. It is a stated goal for us as coaches to bring the talents of all sailors up the learning curve quickly – with an adequate focus on safety at all times. With North U On Board Coaching we deliver valuable content directly to sailors. Whether it be a cruising couple or racing crew we work to address your particular skills and interests  on the best platform – your boat.”

Nick’s racing experience covers the spectrum from Optimists to TP -52s.  Most of his recent racing success has come in One Designs, including Lightnings, Thistles, J22, J24, and Melges 24.

As a sail designer, coach and racer, Mike has been involved in championship campaigns in dinghies and small keelboats for decades. As a sail designer, he’s had a hand in Olympic and World Championship sail development for 470s, F18s and Etchells.

Profession: Executive Director, Women’s International Match Racing Association Public Health Virologist, California State Department of Public Health 

A certified instructor and instructor trainer, Lisa has been coaching racing and team racing for decades.  A veteran of the J22 and J24 circuit, Lisa has raced the Rolex Women’s Keelboat Championship as skipper and crew.

Kevin Denney is a graduate of Michigan State University and the IIT, Institute of Design where he is a faculty member teaching product and service design.  

Kerry is the owner of the North Sails Oregon Loft and is a Four time US Sailing Team member. He has competed in 10 World Championships, 470, Laser II, 505, Melges 24 and Farr 30.

A partial list of events won include 470 US Nationals, Laser II US Nationals, Oregon Offshore, Swiftsure, Newport to Ensenada, Chicago Mackinac.

Jon is a great crew-among the very best crew in the world. He’s won World, National, North American and European Championships in J24s, J22s, Snipes and Thistles. Top skippers seek him out not just his championship sailing skills. Jon’s coaching, training, team building and observational skills set him apart.

Geoff is a 1983 graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a Political Science BA. He lives and works in Toronto, and has been a Sail Expert for North Sails since November of 2000.

Geoff is a multiple class one-design and keelboat champion, Collegiate National Champion and 2x Collegiate All-American, applying the lessons he learned developing his own skills to his coaching.

Drew Mitchell grew up sailing at the Lunenburg Yacht Club in Nova Scotia. He has raced on and coached high performance one design for nearly 20 years. Drew races in the Melges 24, Farr 30, Bluenose and Martin 242 fleets and has won the Farr 30 North Americans and Melges 24 PNW championship. He came in 3rd at Martin 242 North Americans and was in the Top 3 in the Bluenose class for the last 4 years at Chester Race Week. Drew’s distance racing experience includes winning the Van Isle 360 and racing the 2017 Transpac on a TP 52.

In addition to sailing, Drew enjoys playing hockey, surfing and snowboarding.

As a sail trimmer, tactician, and navigator with over 20 years’ experience and many championship titles to his credit, Dobbs has competed in nearly every major offshore race and inshore regatta in the US and around the world on everything from small keelboats to offshore one-designs to America’s Cup yachts to Maxis.

David Dellenbaugh is the publisher, editor and author of Speed & Smarts. He was the tactician and starting helmsman on America3 during her successful defense of the America’s Cup in 1992 and sailed in three other America’s Cup campaigns.

Dave is author of the North U Rules and Tactics Seminar Workbook, North U Intro to Match Racing Workbook, Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2020, Dave Perry’s 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes, and Winning in One-Designs.

A veteran coach and champion racer, Dave Franzel founded the Boston Sailing Center in 1977.  Through coaching, clinics and seminars, he has helped thousands of people become better sailors and racers.

Chris Bedford is founder of Sailing Weather Services and creator (with Peter Isler)of the online weather school Marine Weather University (MWU). For MWU Chris developed a college-level curriculum to maximize the student’s comprehension of marine weather. The first online weather school for boaters – MWU provides cutting edge marine weather education taught by sailors for sailors.

A perennial champion and One Design Expert at North Sails, Brian has been sharing his skills and insights sail trim, rig tuning, and racing technique in clinics and training programs for decades.

Bobby Brooks has coached over 45 race teams, campaigns a 6 meter in Europe and sails regularly on a J109 and Melges 32 in Texas.

Anson Mulder is a Ft. Lauderdale coach and project manager with particular expertise in sails and sail inventory development, Expedition tactical software, project management, crew training, and boat optimization for both inshore and offshore racing.

Andy grew up racing, day sailing and cruising in Michigan and made his first offshore passage at age 19, which set him on a course into the sailing industry that continues to this day. A USCG licensed captain and US Sailing certified instructor, Andy has taught sailing, cruising and racing for over 15 years and currently cruises his Grand Soleil 39 with his wife and two sons. When not sailing with his family, Andy loves racing any boat he can get on; skippering deliveries; teaching sailing, cruising, and racing classes; and inspiring sailors to get out on the water and live their dreams.

Andrew Kerr is a World Class Sailor, Coach and Sailing educator from Plymouth, England, he
was educated at Island School in Hong Kong, Ealing Green High School in London, and the
London School of Economics.

He developed a passion for sailing whilst sailing extensively with his family in England and
Hong Kong and competed in two China Sea Races as a teenager.

Over the course of his sailing career, he has won 30 National and North American
Championships across various classes in the J24, J27, US Sailing Lloyd Phoenix Trophy,
Santana 20, Holder 20 and other classes and has finished 3rd, 4th and 5th multiple times in the
J24 World Championships and 5th in the J22 World Championships.

As a full-time sailing coach, seminar speaker, and North U instructor, he has coached and
presented hundreds of seminars and clinics both in the US and globally and contributed as a
coach to US Sailing programs and at Championship regattas.

He has held Head coaching roles at the Boston Sailing Center, Steve and Doris Colgate’s
Offshore Sailing School in Tortola and for many years at the J World Performance Sailing
school’s in San Diego, CA where he was on the inaugural coaching staff and helped launch the
school, in Newport, RI, Key West, FL and Annapolis, MD where he was also an instructor
trainer.

Teams and individuals that he has coached have gone on to win dozens of championships and
regatta’s – some of which include the J80 North American Championship , J105 North American
Championships, T10 North American Championships , ID 35 National Championships , Overall
Boat of the regatta awards at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Detroit and in Chicago ( twice) ,
Key West Race Week , Block Island Race week and the SORC.

He was named One Design Sailor of the Year in 2000 at Southwestern YC and contributes
coaching articles for Sailing World magazine and various class websites.

Andrew lives in Olympia, WA, with his wife Stephanie, a former America’s Cup sailor on the
all-woman’s team America 3 in the 1995 America’s Cup and a World and National Champion
weightlifter on the US Weightlifting team, their older son is a veteran of the US Marine Corp
whilst there younger son is in the US Army.