Sounds, Gulf of Mexico, the waters of Nova Scotia, and the Adriatic Sea. Somehow, between sailing, Dick managed to spend 30 years as a field artillery officer in the Army, retiring in 1997. Before his retirement as Colonel, Dick was a member of the Annapolis Naval Sailing Association and served as boat captain of a U.S. Navy Hans Christian 43' ketch. While sailing for the Navy, he earned the highest ANSA skipper certification for seamanship. In the summer of 2001, he joined the Wooden Boat School staff as the Assistant Waterfront Manager. Dick has lived on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, and now resides on the Gold Coast of Florida. He holds a Coast Guard masters near coastal license for both power and sail and a commercial towing endorsement.

Boat owner and operator from 1999, under 50 ton:
Inland water experience includes: Ohio River, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario, Lake St. Clair, St. Lawrence, Rideau Waterway and Trent Canal, Georgian Bay, Tennessee River, Tenn-Tom Waterway. Lake Cumberland, Lake Sidney Lanier.

Organizer of Captain’s Classes in the Cincinnati Market since 2003.
We have placed over 200 Captain’s through the Sea School Courses
Including OUPV, Masters Upgrade, Towing Endorsement.
License Renewal. Classes have included First Aid & CPR/AED.
Worked with local USCG MSO to issue Captain’s Oath and Fingerprinting.
Counseled student on license procedure and requirements to qualify for classes/licenses.                                   
Maintained data base of local Captain’s to advise of license rule changes.

Participant in the Four Seasons Yacht Club serving as Fleet Captain for 3 years, and Dock Captain for 2     years. Served as Board of Director member for 7 years. Club size is 250 members. I have presented and guided over 15 overnight trips for our local club.

Currently serve as Director of the Southern Ohio Marine Trade Association, a trade group of marine dealers, vendors, service personnel, and associations that promote boating in southwest Ohio and oversee legislative issues.

Member of the Boat Owners Association of Ohio, a statewide organization that monitors local and state laws that may affect pleasure craft operations, and the business that serve the boater.

experience continued as he boated on the Great Lakes and Western Rivers in sail and power boats. After earning his captain’s license he began a yacht delivery service, moving vessels up to 70 feet. His trips have taken him to the northern Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.  His wealth of first hand knowledge and the ability to share it will provide you with an interesting and meaningful classroom experience.

Navigation through his former flotilla in Gaithersburg, Maryland where he was Flotilla Commander. Besides his many administrative duties, he is also crew, instructor, and vessel examination certified by the United States Coast Guard.

Jim was very active in teaching Maryland Boating Safety at local community colleges, marinas on the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland regional parks, and at boating centers such as West Marine in the Washington D.C. area for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Police in Annapolis, Maryland. He was the liaison between the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the DNR. However, his teaching experience has not always been in the area of boating safety. He was formally an assistant professor of economics at a four year liberal arts college in the Washington, D.C. area, taught economics and statistics at two community colleges in Maryland, and holds a lifetime teaching certificate in the State of California for teaching at City College of San Francisco.

Jim holds a current Master Near Coastal 50 Ton marine Captain's license and is quite active with boating both on the Chesapeake Bay and in the Florida Keys. He was also an active member of the Chesapeake Area Professional Captain's Association (CAPCA), and currently lives in the Raleigh/Durham North Carolina area where he is a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 9-11. Any leisure time is spent on his back country boat fishing in the Florida Keys or sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.

faculty, and he was responsible for all long range planning for the institution. He has owned his own boat since he was 17 years old. Owning both power boats and sailboats, Jim has spent the last 5 years cruising full-time with his wife on a Gemini 105 catamaran. He has since decided to settle down again in southwestern Florida and cruise part-time. His trips have taken him over 15,000 miles from Kentucky Lake through the Tenn-Tom waterway, the west coast of Florida to Key West  and on to the Bahamas, ranging from the Jumento’s, Exumas, and Abacos. Captain Faughn has traveled the east coast several times cruising the Chesapeake, passing through New York Harbor into Long Island Sound. Jim has ASA certifications in four areas and holds a Coast Guard masters near coastal license for both power and sail and a commercial towing endorsement.

In addition, he has six years experience as an adjunct college professor teaching criminal justice coursework.

Gale and his wife recently completed America's Great Loop, sailing over 7,000 miles around the eastern half of the United States and Canada aboard their sailing catamaran, Blue Heron. Some of their favorite cruising areas of the Great Loop include Canada's North Channel, Georgian Bay, the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and the Chesapeake Bay. Additional cruising destinations include the Bahamas, Jamaica, a Panama Canal Transit, Costa Rica, Mexico and California. Gale has extensive experience operating vessels from 16 feet to 64 feet in length, both motor and sail. During his career with the DNR he logged hundreds of sea days while performing boating safety enforcement duties on Iowa's inland lakes and the Mississippi River.

Captain Goranson's Merchant Mariner Credentials include a 50 Ton Masters Near Coastal license with auxiliary sail and towing endorsements. Gale holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Public Administration and is a graduate of the Iowa State Law Enforcement Academy.