Our Faculty Team

Doug Sparks – You saw Doug on Our Offshore Sailing Headquarters Team page but it's important to place him here again, as he is the kingpin that motivates and leads our wonderful instructors and campus managers. As COO, he has a lot on his plate, but first and foremost is upholding our standards and keeping spirits high. Dedicated to Offshore Sailing School to the core, Doug is either at a campus or on the phone daily with staff. When it comes to maintaining our boats, he's right in there with them – solving problems when necessary and making sure the job gets done with top priority. Doug is always willing to talk to our customers and to instructor applicants who fit the Offshore profile. His direct line at Offshore is 239-986-7539. 
Email: Doug@OffshoreSailing.com.

Everyone who teaches for Offshore is carefully vetted by our COO and chosen because they are absolutely the best, period. There are a lot of sailors out there "teaching," says Doug, "but only a special breed of sailors who are truly Professional Sailing Instructors – with a passion to teach as strong as their passion to sail." But that is not all they must exceed in to work for Offshore Sailing School. From the day Steve Colgate  (shown at left with Beite Cook and Kevin Wensely) opened his first school in Manhattan in 1964, he has insisted on instructors with true teaching skills, keen sailing knowledge and vast experience in small and large cruising and racing boats.

Brian Van Leeuwen – A Florida native, Brian has been part of the Offshore Sailing School team since 2005. He started racing dingies at the age of 11 and has enjoyed sailing and powerboating in southwest Florida ever since. Brian is a recent University of Central Florida graduate, a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain, and certified US SAILING instructor. He is currently working at Offshore Sailing School's lovely location on the Chesapeake – The Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, Maryland and will return to Ft. Myers, Florida in the fall.

Michael Reed – enrolled in a Learn to Sail course with Offshore Sailing School, returned home to Chicago and promptly joined a Beneteau 40.7 crew where he honed his skills for two seasons in a host of regattas including the prestigious Race to Mackinac Island. After an Offshore Sailing School cruising course with his father several years later in the British Virgin Islands, he took a sabbatical to pursue world cruising – the Caribbean, across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, then two years in South Africa working as a sailing instructor and delivery skipper. Michael is a RYA Yachtmaster Instructor with a commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Certificate of Compentency, holds a U.S. Coast Guard 50FT Master's Credential and US SAILING instructor certifications.

Michael Domican – Is a past America’s Cup contender aboard the British Sailing Vessel Lion Heart. US Sailing Certified and Chief RYA Instructor for Offshore Sailing School. Michael is also our British Virgin Islands branch manager, and is originally from the United Kingdom. He is a full time resident of the British Virgin Islands.

Kevin Wensley – A member of Sir Chase Blyth BC Global Challenge management team and US SAILING Coastal Passage Making and Navigation Instructor, Kevin also loves to teach Learn to Sail and has been with Offshore for many years. Originally from the United Kingdom, he now calls Ft. Myers, Florida home.

Andrew Cross – Hails from Iowa and is a US SAILING Coastal Passage Making and Navigation Instructor, avid racer and Offshore Sailing School branch manager. Andy has been sailing all of his life and teaching since his late teens. He helped get the FGCU sailing team going and served as student coach until his graduation. Andy lives in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Louise Reardon – Has served aboard some of the world’s most luxurious sailing and power yachts as an Officer and a Captain. From the Lake District in the United Kingdom, Louise started sailing on Team Vanguard 420s at school in Scotland. While studying Asian and African geography at London University, she worked as an instructor at the Outward Bound School in Maylaysia. After graduation, she returned to sailing full time, cruising the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, East and West United States, Caribbean, West Mexico and doing numerous offshore passages including six transatlantics covering 73,000 miles on yachts up to 355'. She holds a U.S. Coast Guard license, RYA Yachtmaster Ocean certificate and MCA Master 3000 for Commercial vessels, and is a US SAILING Certified Instructor at four levels. Louise currently lives and teaches in the British Virgin Islands.

Rogier Intres – Our branch manager at Liberty Landing and Chelsea Piers started his professional maritime career at the Nedlloyd Lines subsidiary in Rotterdam followed by a stint in the Royal Dutch Navy at their Hydrographical Office in The Hague. Rogier has an extensive sailing resume that includes various European Races as well as a winning record in several one design classes. Highlights include winning class one at Cowes week and then following up with a win at the Fastnet Race the same year. Rogier attended Merchant Marine College in Holland and now lives in New Jersey.

Barbara Stetson – Raced in the Junior Yacht Racing Association program on Long Island Sound as a teenager and was chosen to represent her yacht club at both the Midget and Girls' Championships. She became Commodore of the St. Barts Community Club Sailing Committee, skippering a 34' Sabre on the Sound. Barbara has extensive and varied chartering experience in the Caribbean, Chesapeake, Lake Champlain and Tahiti. She has taught at Offshore Sailing School for over 10 years and is a US SAILING certified instructor at Basic Keelboat, Cruising and Coastal Navigation levels. She holds a U.S. Coast Guard license and has written articles for Sail magazine.

Josh Klein -  From Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Josh started sailing at the age of 14 on 420s at Guntersville Lake, Alabama. The family started sailing on a Catalina 22, then purchased a Slocum 43 and began cruising the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Josh joined the racing team while attending the University of West Florida in Pensacola and sailed 420s and Lasers as well as J24s. As the sailing director at the Pensacola Yacht Club, he ran the club's dinghy program, summer sailing camp, and the US SAILING Keelboat program. Josh enjoys sailing with his parents around the Caribbean and has been a US sailing instructor since 2002.  He joined Offshore Sailing School in 2008 as the St. Petersburg, FL branch manager . "Meeting new students and teaching them to sail, introducing them to a new lifestyle is what I love most about my work."