Remembering "El Jefe" - Captain Kevin Holden | Modern Sailing

Remembering "El Jefe" - Captain Kevin Holden

We at Modern Sailing are saddened by the passing of our member, instructor, and friend Kevin Holden, and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.

Kevin received the nickname El Jefe during his 22 years of leading groups of teenagers on mission trips to Mexico to build homes for those in need, a nickname that followed him to Modern Sailing. An avid sailor since 2009, Kevin joined Modern in 2015 and quickly became known in our community as a leader, a frequent Club Skipper and the co-founder of “Pirates For A Cause,” an arm of Modern Sailing's Leukemia Cup Regatta program. In 2021, he completed his ASA Instructor Qualification Clinics and began sharing his love of sailing with others as a Modern Sailing instructor. Engaged in community through Rotary, church, and sailing, Kevin's outgoing ways touched and improved the lives of many. He was admired for his passion for sailing and for life, his generous nature, and his unmistakable, hearty laugh. His loss is felt deeply in our community and he is greatly missed.

Kevin J. Holden Obituary

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  • Salesforce (Ashley H.)

    Our team at Salesforce did the Corporate Regatta Team Buidling activity (August 2026). What a blast!! HIghly recommend for your next team activity. It's fun to be out on the water, but the skippers also did a great job of teaching us all the sailing basics. The race is set up well so that we all had a chance to try out different roles. We did it with 11 people across two boats but having more boats is also doable and would lead to even more competition.

  • Alisa Driscoll, Dual Site Member

    Here are some snaps of Our Saturday, August 20, 2022 Modern Sailing Expedition with Captain Robert Bivin, who was outstanding. Please convey photos and thanks to him. He is an outstanding individual, leader and sailing instructor. His knowledge and experience made us all feel safe and our Farallones Day Trip educational and just amazing. 

  • John Kipping

    The meeting room was quite adequate and the location most convenient, but the course outline and instruction were outstanding. Modern Sailing is fortunate to have such a well organized instructor in Mr. Stan Lander who teaches very well from a rich professional background. Mr. Lander was generous with his time and patiently in helping students who needed more attention or time in understanding various aspects of the curriculum.

  • John Kratochvil, Oregon

    I would like to compliment Stan Lander for his coaching, counseling and teaching Heavy Weather Offshore Sailing. Stan was very accommodating to all of the student's interests and shared his many years of insight on handling the boat in heavy seas. I would certainly recommend Stan and this course to sheltered waters sailors. My confidence in handling a boat of this size was certainly enhanced by the experience.

  • Trudy Flores

    Captain Jeff Cathers is really cool. I had such a great time on the Farallones Day Trip. It was actually my very best day of 2020. Thank you so much for coordinating the trip.

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