Captain Ed Brunjes’ love of sailing began in June 1969 aboard a Baba 30 in Mission Bay San Diego. The experience left an unforgettable impression, as he felt connected with thousands of years of sailing history and to the sailors who spent their lives on the water.

After owning three different boats, and completing his first of 5 trips from San Diego to Hawaii, he decided to certify as an ASA instructor and make sailing education his new passion.

Captain Ed has been an ASA instructor for 13 years and is certified to teach every course the ASA offers including the beginning courses 101/103/104 and the more advanced and specialty courses including Coastal Navigation, Celestial Navigation, and Radar.

Captain Ed has worked as crew, second captain and navigator on multiple San Diego to Hawaii transits as well as from New Port Rhode Island to Annapolis Maryland. He has skippered numerous regattas and operated boats for private charters. Sailing has given him the experience of working in Abaco, Bahamas, Bermuda, and on the west coast including Annapolis Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay area.

When Ed is not on the water, he teaches Computer and Information Sciences and Miramar College. He specializes in C/C++ and was voted “Professor of the Year” twice by his students.

Captain Richard Darmanin began sailing Sunfish at the age of 8, while living in Puerto Rico.  He began racing Hobie Cats at the age of 16, and went on to race in the first “Around Puerto Rico Race” as well as the “Middle Sea” race in Malta.   He has crewed captained and raced both monohulls and catamarans, and represented Puerto Rico in the Montreal Olympics, in 1976.  His life-long love of sailing has taken him around the world including the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, and Malta. 

Richard has been certified by the ASA to teach the 101/103/104 and the 114 Catamaran courses. Captain Richard received the honor of ASA 2019 Outstanding Instructor Award, nominated by his students. 

Captain Ryan Levinson has been sailing his entire life on everything from small dinghies to large superyachts.  Recently, Ryan and his wife completed an extended sailing voyage that went from San Diego to Mexico, and then across the Pacific Ocean (and equator) to the Marquesas Islands. After arriving in the South Pacific, they spent the next 9 years exploring the many islands and atolls of French Polynesia (Tahiti) by sail.  

Before their voyage, Ryan worked as captain of a 120’ luxury sailing mega-yacht and was a professional competitive sailor on the US Sailing team, where he and his crew-mates won a national championship and placed 2nd at a world cup regatta.

Ryan was an adjunct professor of Keelboat Sailing and of Sea Kayaking for San Diego State University, where he taught semester-long college-level courses.  He was also a SCUBA instructor, and kiteboarding instructor, and ran the new-hire “academy” for incoming EMTs and Paramedics into San Diego’s Emergency Medical System.

Outside of sailing, Ryan spent nearly a decade serving on an Advanced Life Support ambulance in San Diego and leading the Emergency Medical/Rescue team for the Big Wave World Tour surf contests, where he operated a personal watercraft (“jetski”) to help rescue professional surfers who fell while riding giant waves.

Ryan primarily teaches in Southern California and the islands of Tahiti. He is certified by ASA to teach 101/102/103/104/105/106/114. 

Captain John Miller has 45+ years of sailing experience on boats ranging from a small Sunfish up to 77 ‘vessels including ketches, sloops, yawls and multihulls. He has logged well over 1800 days on the water and 70,000 nautical miles. His sailing adventures and work as a Professional Delivery Boat Captain have taken him from San Diego to Hawaii to the San Juan Islands, the Mississippi River to the Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and around the Florida Keys. For the past seven years, he has participated as Captain and Navigator, in multiple offshore races including the Transpac from Long to Honolulu, PV18 from San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, SoCal300 from Santa Barbara to San Diego, as well as the Beneteau Cup, 5 years in a row. He is certified to teach the 101/103/104/105/106 and 118 courses. Captain John has also instructed safety at sea and offshore personal survival courses, with over a decade of experience with safety products, seminars and devices.

Captain Michael Rose’s love of the water began in childhood. He grew up boating, kayaking, and fishing on small lakes and rivers in Northern Virginia. He joined the Navy in 2002 and completed his training to become a Special Warfare Combatant Crewman (SWCC) in 2005, running 13-foot zodiacs to 70ft power vessels, 800-1000 hours per year since.

 In 2008, he completed his ASA Certification for the 101/103/104/105/106, and 114 courses and is certified to teach the ASA 101/103, and 104 courses. He has sailing and motor yacht experience up and down the east and west coast and along the Gulf Coast. Internationally, his boating experience includes the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2015 he joined US Patriot Sailing, a veterans sailboat racing program, located on the east coast. Upon transferring back to San Diego in 2017, he founded the San Diego chapter of US Patriot Sailing, acting as team captain. He has trained his 40+ team members and participated in weekly races and multi-day races aboard 25’ -40’+ sport boats and has crewed for multiple races on an 80’ Super Maxi racing yacht.

Captain Tyler Savage’s love for sailing began when he was eight years old, racing dinghies at his local sail club.  He has served as crew on racing teams in both San Diego and Hawaii aboard 40-50’ monohulls and catamarans.  He has skippered up to 50’ boats and has made the transit from Los Angeles to Hawaii twice.   He is certified to teach ASA 101/103/104 courses and has completed his 25-ton Captain’s License.

Captain Dean Surette ‘s sailing and racing experience spans more than four decades.  He has extensive sailing and racing experience on both coasts, Antigua, BVI’s, USVI’s as well as the race from Annapolis to the Solomon Islands and Puerto Vallarta to La Paz Mexico.

He has served as a delivery boat captain from Annapolis to Norfolk and Charleston serving as engineer, completing route and weather planning, and conducting engine and electrical maintenance as needed.  Captain Dean has also served as the IT Director for both Charleston Race Week and the Charleston Tall Ships Festival.

He began teaching sailing in Hawaii in 1976 and in Charleston in 2006. He completed US Sailing’s Safety at Sea training in 2022. He holds a USCG 100-ton license and is certified to teach ASA 101/103/104/114 courses.

Captain Michael Shaw has experience with wide variety of both luxury motor and sailing yachts. Over the course of 8 years, he completed over 5,000 nautical miles of offshore deliveries across the US West Coast, Mexico, Canada, Bahamas, and the Caribbean.  He is certified to teach ASA 101/103/104/114 courses.

Outside of sailing, Ryan spent nearly a decade serving on an Advanced Life Support ambulance in San Diego and leading the Emergency Medical/Rescue team for the Big Wave World Tour surf contests, where he operated a personal watercraft (“jetski”) to help rescue professional surfers who fell while riding giant waves.

Captain Jeff Howard learned to sail at the age of 14 while in the Boy Scouts, and started teaching sailing at the age of 19.  Over the years he has owned a variety of monohull and multihull sailboats, ranging from 28’-47’ in length. 

Since 2013, he has logged over 15,000 nautical miles, sailing along the California Coast between Long Beach and San Diego Bay and internationally.  He recently completed a 66-day (5,200 nautical miles) boat delivery of a brand new 42’ catamaran from Fort Lauderdale Florida, through the Caribbean to San Diego sailing through the Panama Canal.   He currently holds a 100-ton Master Inland and OUVP Near Coastal with Sailing Endorsement and is certified to teach the ASA 101/103/104/105/106/114 courses. 

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