Professional Instructors

Someone wise once said "you are known by the company you keep". Pinnacle Yachts is honored to keep company with professional instructors that are the best in the business. Superb mariners that are also patient teachers with wonderful personalities. These are truly great people to know.

Captain Randall Smith
USCG Licensed Master
Pinnacle Founder Randall Smith leads and is the principal architect of our sailing, powerboat and navigation training programs. Randy has extensive on-the-water experience having sailed Lake Michigan, the Chesapeake Bay, the Caribbean, the Ionian Sea of Greece and the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. He has completed extensive formal studies as a student and instructor with the Annapolis School of Seamanship, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the US Power Squadron and the American Sailing Association. Randy formerly was COO of a medical products company and a management consultant at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Randy holds a BS in Engineering from Northwestern University.

Captain BJ
USCG Licensed Master
The "Ever-Charming" Captain BJ is graceful and articulate - and one heck of a serious mariner. Few people can handle a yacht like her in any conditions due to her extensive off-shore experience. BJ has been a Pinnacle sail and powerboat instructor for six years. She has also instructed at Womanship, a highly regarded east coast school dedicated to teaching woman to sail. Formerly BJ was a commercial real estate executive. BJ is also very well traveled. She holds an MA in Psychology from DePaul University.

Captain Charlie
USCG Licensed Master
Calm, knowledgeable and skilled, Captain Charlie has taught sailing for four years. His experience is broad having served on the classic Tall Ship of Baltimore, and on many sail and power yachts in the Pinnacle Fleet. Charlie is professional mariner that delivers his skills with great pride and commitment.

Captain Claudia
USCG Licensed Master
"Beloved" is the most fitting word to describe Claudia as a sailing instructor. Her students rave about her energetic style and great passion for the water. Claudia's extensive skills are honed by years of race experience, having completed many prestigious regattas including 21 Chicago to Mackinac races and the infamous blue-water Newport to Bermuda race. Claudia has been a Pinnacle sailing instructor for seven years. She holds a BS in Marketing from Southern Illinois University.

Captain Jim
USCG Licensed Master
With 30 years of sailing experience on the Eastern Seaboard, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Caribbean, and French Polynesia, and three transatlantic ocean crossings, Jim has quite literally traveled the world in a sailboat. He also has formal training as a student and instructor with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the US Power Squadron and the American Sailing Association. As far reaching and prestigious as his sailing resume is, Jim is know for his and relaxed but comprehensive style of teaching. Jim holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Missouri School of Mines and an MBA from Gannon College.

Captain Kasey
USCG Licensed Master
The term "Master" is an understatement when describing Kasey's skill on yachts in the Pinnacle Fleet. His knowledge of each vessel is extensive; his sense of wind and sea is remarkable; and his boat handling skills are unsurpassed. A person who's every word has meaning, Kasey is superb powerboat and sailing instructor who has been with Pinnacle for six years. Kasey holds a MS in City Planning from the University of Illinois.

Captain Mayre
USCG Licensed Master
A consummate professional, Captain Mayre is a wonderful, patient teacher and highly skilled sailor. She has instructed Pinnacle members for seven years. Her students often comment to management about their delight with her teaching. Mayre's interesting resume includes a stint as a night club singer in New York City in the 70s, and tenure as a Professor of English. Mayre holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Captain Pat
USCG Licensed Master
Pinnacle Founder Gary Feracota has said "If I were in a storm on the North Atlantic in January with my wife and kids, and could have only one person with me, it would be Pat... He is the best mariner I have ever known." Vastly experienced, steady, brave and an absolute gentleman, Pat has been a Pinnacle sail and powerboat instructor for six years. Formerly Pat was an undercover narcotics agent.

Captain Phil
USCG Licensed Master
Phil is a lifelong-sailor whose teaching skills are well complemented by his warm personality. Highly regarded by Pinnacle members for his knowledge, skill and accommodating style, Phil takes the stress out of learning. He has extensive off-shore sail and power experience in the Atlantic Ocean off Boston and Miami, and in the waters of Long Island Sound and Lake Michigan. He is a racer as well having competed in numerous regattas and six runnings of the prestigious Chicago to Mackinac race. Phil is also a certified Search and Rescue diver. He holds a BA in Marketing from Winona State University.

Captain Terry
USCG Licensed Master
When asked as a young boy what he wanted to be when he grows up, Terry replied "I want to be Sea Captain". With over 38 years of experience as Captain, marine surveyor and certified instrument technician, few people know their way around yachts more so than Terry. His deep understanding of boats and the water, and passion for his lifelong calling make Terry a great mariner and great instructor. He has been with Pinnacle for four years. Terry is a graduate of the Yacht and Small Boat Survey School, and the Chapman School of Seamanship.