Captain Christopher Day grew up in England, where his love for the sea was born. Chris is a certified American Sailing Association (ASA) Instructor as well as a Charter Captain and an Instructor of our Trawler Training Classes. He has Skippered boats from 30 to 120 feet in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Chris also enjoys gardening and art; however, it is his first love, boating, that he feels offers a personal challenge that puts one in touch with Nature.

Captain Don Bentley

Capt. Don Bentley learned to sail on Corps of Engineers lakes in Pennsylvania. His love of sailing grew and he earned his ASA certification in 1992.  Captain Don began teaching sailing in 1998.  Don has a Ph.D. in Student Development and is a full-time educator.  Currently he is a High School guidance counselor and teaches sailing for FS&CS on the weekends and during school holidays.  Don is also a certified Divemaster and enjoys sailing and cruising on his own boat.  Captain Don enjoys helping others learn to sail because of the confidence they gain in themselves as a result.

Captain Dan Ballou works part time as a power boat Captain aboard various SFY trawlers and motor yachts.  He holds his USCG Masters License with a towing endorsement, which he received while attending Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Dan has enjoyed working with and being near boats for many years. He started working at Sandwich Marina on Cape Cod Massachusetts and soon became the fuel dock manager. Dan’s next job was as a deckhand on the North East Pilot boats where he gained valuable Sea time and experience prior to taking the helm of the Pilot boats as an operator a year later.

Dan takes great pleasure from teaching boating.  He especially enjoys seeing customers build their boating confidence as they learn to become more competent Mariners.

When Dan is not on the water you may find him working as a Captain and Harbor Master at the beautiful Useppa Island Club Marina or taking long relaxing rides on his Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Captain Charlie Ryan is a lifelong boating advocate who followed his love of the water and all things nautical into his life’s vocation. He is now retired from two separate careers – first as a naval officer and secondly as an executive with Honeywell International Inc. His love of boating began with competitive sailing dinghy racing at age 8 and cruising aboard family boats on the Great Lakes through his high school and college years. He later owned a series of his own boats – both power and sail. During his navy years, Charlie spent more than a dozen years at sea in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and served part of that time as captain of two destroyer-class ships.

Captain Charlie holds a 100 Ton U.S. Coast Guard Masters License. Charlie particularly enjoys helping boaters improve their yachting skills. When not boating on his own cruiser or working as a yacht delivery captain, Charlie and can often be found teaching boating at Southwest Florida Yachts and the Florida Sailing and Cruising School. Captain Charlie lives with his wife Ricki in Fort Myers and also spends some time during the summer at their cottage on the Chesapeake Bay.