Instructor Resumes, SEAS Morris Sailing Club – 2023
SEAS Morris Sailing Club & School Instructors come from a wide range of interests and occupations, all with one common interest in sailing and teaching others to sail. Since SEAS Morris Sailing School is a non-profit, volunteer organization, instructors are chosen for the strengths and contributions to sailing.
Come learn to sail, hone your skills, and increase your certifications with SEAS Morris sailing classes held on quiet Budd Lake in Mt Olive, New Jersey.
Alecia Meila
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, IPC, ASA 101,103,104, CPR, NJ Boating Safety Certification, and SEAS Instructor Trainer
Alecia has sailed internationally, including in the BVI and Antigua. She enjoys sailing anytime the weather is nice and wants to make sailing accessible to everyone. During the work week, Alecia is a certified music therapist, providing therapy to people with developmental disabilities. She is a member of several professional music therapy organizations, a teacher of Music Together(R), and believes in making the world a better place by making it more musical.
Tom Preston
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, CPR, NJ Boating Safety Certification
Tom learned to sail and race Sunfish sailboats at a small community lake adjacent to Lake Hopatcong through their Junior sailing program. He continued to sail Sunfish sailboats and sloops on-and-off through the years, but was more involved in power boating when his kids were younger. Tom has cruised aboard 42' catamarans—one to St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and one in Key West.
Al Shamael
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, ASA 101,103,104, International Proficiency Certificate, CPR, NJ Boating Safety Certification
Al has been sailing since 2006 on large and small boats and participated in several races. Al has sailed several times in Caribbean and European destinations.
Paul Duerk, USCG Captain
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, ASA Certified Sailing Instructor 101, 103, 104, International Proficiency Certification, CPR, SEAS Sailing Instructor
Paul has been sailing since the age of 7 on board boats, progressing to skippering catamarans and monohulls up to 52 ft. He also has skippered power boats up to 35 ft.
Peter Decker
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, CPR
Laura Eory
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor
Klavdiya Hammond
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, IPC
Klavdiya learned to sail in 2020 on a 42ft monohull off the coast of Spain. She joined SEAS soon after and continued to learn and sail on board boats and sloops with the club. When not sailing, Klavdiya works in IT and enjoys running, hiking, kayaking and other outdoor adventures.
Diane McDonough
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, ASA 101,103,104 and 105
Diane has been sailing since 2010, having learned on a sunfish on Rehoboth Bay in Delaware. She joined SEAS shortly thereafter and has been on several trips with the club. Diane works as a CPA with a firm in Morristown. In addition to sailing, she enjoys several hobbies such as practicing martial arts, watercolor painting, playing classical guitar and gardening.
Will Schmitt
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor
Will has been involved with sailing for over a decade sailing on old schooners sloops and catamarans on the Caribbean, the Atlantic Ocean and large lakes. In his spare time outside of managing medical education programs, he studies sailing and develops his skills to teach and be a responsible sailor.
Mark Yacoub
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor
Mark has been sailing on and off since he was a child. Some of his fondest sailing memories were cruising past the Galveston Bay and going out in the Gulf of Mexico on multi-day cruises. After a lapse in sailing, Mark has gotten back into it, sailing dinghies, sloops, iceboats, keelboats, and catamarans. As a career, Mark is lucky to have that in another one of his passions: automotive engineering. In addition to sailing, Mark also spends his spare time with photography, travel, and mostly his two young daughters.
Chris Zarpentine
Certifications: SEAS Certified Sailing Instructor, ASA 101, 103
Chris began sailing in 2021, learning to sail through SEAS Morris. He loves sailing board boats on Budd Lake, though he has also sailed internationally. During the school year, he teaches philosophy at Wilkes University.