Meet The Crew

Robin holds a USCG Master 100 Ton License with Sail and Tow endorsements, has ASA101-105 Instructor Certifications, and a General class ham radio license. She has taught sailing for more than ten years and enjoys working with beginning cruising students and teaching traditional forms of navigation. Robin sails her C&C 30 with family primarily  in the mid-Atlantic states and New England as well as the Great Lakes and Florida. She learned the love of ocean sailing and celestial navigation on a Norfolk to Bermuda ocean cruise with the Maryland School in 2002. Robin and her husband Mike have two daughters and plan to do long distance cruising in the future. A graduate of Columbia University, Robin is a Nurse Anesthetist currently in practice in NJ.

I had a magical childhood working my way through shenanigans on my sailing dinghy while my dad worked on never ending boat projects on the Texas Gulf Coast. I grew up, went in the USAF and had a career in aerospace safety and adult education. My husband and I simultaneously worked our way toward our cruising dream, eventually buying and refitting a 70’s sloop. We sold possessions, took our two children out of 6th and 8th grade and made our way south from the Chesapeake to the Bahamas for 10 months. After return to land life, I continued sailing with Sea Scouts and eventually, got my captains license and ASA Instructor certifications and have been teaching sailing in the Chesapeake and Caribbean.

Tim Cook is an ASA Certified Sailing Instructor and former Fast Patrol Boat Commanding Officer in the USCG. He holds a 100T Near Coastal Masters License, teaches at our basic and intermediate sailing levels, and has served as First Mate on several of our DELMARVA and Ocean training cruises. Tim has been a lifelong sailor and crew and captain of a number of different racing and cruising sailboats. He has completed the Newport to Bermuda and Annapolis to Newport races as navigator, in addition to extensive coastal cruising. Tim was a Deck Watch Officer on USCGC EAGLE (America's Tall Ship) for passages from Connecticut to Chesapeake and then to England, France and the Azores.

Captain David Gifford has been sailing for more than 40 years, after catching the sailing bug during a visit to Annapolis and never recovering. In addition to his years of sailing the Chesapeake Bay and much of the eastern seaboard, he has extensive coastal and ocean sailing experience. He holds a USCG 50-Ton Master Captains License and is certified in seven levels as an ASA Instructor (201-206 and 218). Captain Gifford is a graduate of Maryland School of Sailing & Seamanship’s courses from 101 through 108, and has served for many years as a Mate on MD School’s voyages to Bermuda, St. Thomas, New England, and elsewhere. He currently owns a Bristol 38.8, which he sails regularly in the Chesapeake Bay. Captain Gifford is a retired (and recovering) Philadelphia lawyer and now resides in Rock Hall, MD.

Brian developed the sailing bug in 2011 when his wife surprised him with sailing lessons as a birthday present. Shortly thereafter, he purchased a MacGregor 26M and sailing became his passion. He joined the Pentagon Sailing Club where he became an ASA Sailing Instructor. Brian then obtained his USCG 25 Ton Inland Masters License and began participating in the US Naval Academy Offshore Sail Training Squadron (OSTS) – a program designed to teach Midshipmen sailing, leadership and teamwork skills aboard 44ft cutter-rigged US Navy Sail Training Craft during a 4-week summer cruise. He also enjoys racing with friends out of the Deltaville Yacht Club in Virginia. Brian now owns SV SPARTAN, a Hunter 33.5 that he keeps in the Occoquan River and sails throughout Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. Brian has ASA Instructor certs from the 201 through 206 levels, plus 214 and 218, and now teaches with the Maryland School of Sailing at our basic level.

Chip Lohman's sailing experience began in 1983 aboard a rented Catalina 25 in San Diego Bay. After a 10-day expedition through the Intracostal Waterway aboard his boss's Pearson 10 meter, he purchased his first sailboat in 1986 and began cruising the Chesapeake Bay area during the 1980s and '90s. As a licensed Coast Guard Captain, ABYC Electrician and ASA Instructor, Captain Chip joined the Maryland School of Sailing in 2006 after a 25-year career in the Marines and Sales Manager for AT&T. After being nominated by students as an ASA Outstanding Instructor of the Year in 2007, Chip took a leave of absence from teaching to pursue a career in journalism as the Managing Editor for Shooting Sports USA magazine. He retired his pen in 2018 to return to Maryland School to pursue two of his passions - teaching and sailing. Captain Chip's sailing log includes the Atlantic coast through New York to Connecticut as well as St. Thomas, St. Johns and the neighboring Islands. Says Chip: "the best part of sailing is the people you meet."

Frank has been with the Maryland School for more than ten years where he teaches basic through ocean sailing courses. He currently holds a USCG 100 ton Ocean Master License. Frank and his wife Suzanne spent most of that time living on a sailboat, which they kept at Langford Bay Marina our home port. In 2023, they built a house in Rock Hall, where Frank serves as the Maryland School's Maintenance Manager and local point of contact for students and instructors. Frank is certified as an ASA Master Instructor, meaning that he can certify other instructors, and is qualified to teach all ASA keelboat courses from 101 up through 108 and all of the ASA endorsement courses. Frank earned the ASA Outstanding Instructor Award for the years 2016 and 2022.

Captain Jerry Nigro was born and raised on Long Island, NY near the water boxed in by the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound, so it was natural for him to become an avid sailor and waterman, a path that he started in his early years. Jerry joined us on a Norfolk to Bermuda ocean training cruise about 25 years ago, and the ocean sailing bug bit him deep and causing him to buy a Skye 51 foot sailing cutter named MONTAUK LIGHT, which he sailed to and from Bermuda several times and also sailed on a trans-Atlantic round trip between Long Island and Portugal with several stops in between. Since then, Jerry has served as Mate on many of our DELMARVA advanced coastal cruises and our Bermuda and St Thomas ocean training cruises. Jerry holds a USCG near coastal Captain's license and continues to serve a Mate on many of our advanced cruises, as he loves being on the water with other sailors who share his passion.

Doug Riley grew up around small boats on the Connecticut shore. He learned to sail from a family friend in Casco Bay, Maine, and later worked through the ASA qualification system at schools in Vermont and Florida’s Gulf Coast. He has crewed on traditional schooners in the U.S. and Canada. Doug holds a 50-ton USCG Master’s license with auxiliary-sail endorsement and ASA instructor ratings for ASA101 through 106 and 118. Doug has owned cruising sailboats on Lake Champlain for the last 20 years, and recently completed restoration of a classic Friendship sloop previously used in the New England charter trade.

Rick has been sailing for 40 years and took his first sailing course in 1983 the same year that ASA was founded. Throughout this time, he has sailed many different sailing craft from sunfish and hobie cats, up to 50-foot monohulls. Rick sailed off the coast of San Diego for many years and since the late 1990’s throughout the Chesapeake Bay area. He has also chartered in the BVIs, Tahiti, other parts of the West Indies, and has sailed throughout the San Juan Islands on the west coast. He currently holds a U.S. Coast Guard captains license and is an ASA certified instructor for ASA 101 and 103. Rick and his wife currently sail on their Hunter 306 out of the Cambridge Maryland area. Rick is also a certified diver and holds both NAUI and PADI certifications. He has also taught skiing for adaptive ski schools and has taught many courses in the area of Adult Education and Distance Education for graduate students. Rick brings his joy for teaching and sailing to the Maryland School of Sailing and Seamanship and hopes to pass his excitement for the sport and the skills onto those who want to enjoy time on the water.

Captain Ali grew up sailing in Istanbul Turkey and has over 30 years of experience sailing. He has spent over 15 years actively racing in the Chesapeake Bay and has recently shifted his focus towards cruising and teaching sailing. Ali is a graduate of Maryland School of Sailing & Seamanship’s courses through 107 and is certified to teach ASA curriculum up to 105 level as well as docking. Ali holds a USCG Master 25 Ton license and Yachtmaster Offshore credentials. Having managed not to own a boat (yet), he spends a lot of time sailing on various boats out of Baltimore and still manages to do some racing too. In addition to sailing, he enjoys other water and wind sports including windsurfing and kiteboarding. When not sailing, he works as an IT professional for a higher education institution in Baltimore, Maryland.

Captain Tony’s love for sailing began as a teenager about 50 years ago. He is a USCG Licensed Captain, an ASA Certified Sailing Instructor and a certified SCUBA diver. His goal in life is to introduce people to sailing and to provide instruction on its finer points to those already engaged in this activity. He and his wife sail the Chesapeake Bay on EQUUS, their Catalina 42 MKII. One of their favorite sailing experiences is sailing in the warm British Virgin Islands during the winter months.

Tom Tursi holds a USCG 100 ton Ocean Masters License and is an ASA Certified Sailing Instructor. He teaches our navigation and DelMarVa circumnavigation courses. He is also author of many of our instructional texts including two adopted by ASA, which are Coastal Navigation & Piloting used for the ASA105 course level and Docking Techniques used for the ASA118 Docking Endorsement. Tom has been a lifelong sailor, owning a number of different racing and cruising sailboats, and has completed over 70,000 miles of blue water ocean sailing throughout the world in addition to extensive coastal cruising.

Gerhardus "Gerald” van Wilgen was born and raised in the Netherlands where he was an avid water sport enthusiast: sailing, windsurfing, rowing, canoeing, kayaking, crew. After he moved to the US he took the ASA courses to learn how to sail properly. He later became an instructor and captain simply because enjoyed teaching people how to sail. He has been teaching children, alternative high school kids and adults for over ten years. He sails his 46’ McCurdy & Rhodes cutter “Elske” on the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. Gerald was a full time stay-at-home dad, and spent his down time as soccer coach, theater maker, master gardener, teacher in a juvenile detention center, writer, president of a soccer club, podcaster, and is (still) trying to learn how to play sea chanties on his fiddle.

Hattie holds a USCG Master 25 Ton License with a Sailing endorsement and has ASA 101-104 Instructor certifications. Originally from the south of England, Hattie moved to the US in 2000, and soon after discovered her love of sailing. She now owns and races a 1972 Tartan 34C in Lewes, DE and the Chesapeake, and is looking forward to her first Bermuda passage on her boat this summer. Hattie lives in Lewes with her husband, Mike, and a crazy border collie called Barney Rubble.

Captain Rosamond Witte grew up sailing with her family on the Chesapeake Bay. She worked in boatyards and for charter companies doing maintenance and as crew on deliveries to and from ports on the US East Coast and the Caribbean. Rose has operated as a professional mariner since earning her first issue USCG captains license in 1981 at age 22. Employed as yacht captain for private sailing and motor vessels as well as fleet manager for charter companies, boatyard manager and tallship captain, Rose continues to enjoy an expansive career in the maritime trades. Captain Rose is proficient in yacht maintenance and repair, celestial, radar and electronic navigation, and is a patient instructor of these skills. She currently operates with USCG 500gt ocean-master credentials and ASA instructor certifications. Captain Witte teaches at our basic, intermediate and ocean levels, including our DELMARVA and Ocean Training Cruises, and looks forward to helping you master the skills required to enjoy sailing to its fullest.