Dave Russell

Instructor

Dave got his start sailing tall ships in the Caribbean in 1991, and this first experience in the islands changed his life forever. While he prefers to sail large catamarans, Dave has never met a boat he didn’t like. In fact he’s invested in three large schooners that offer vacation cruises in the Caribbean, and frequently crews on those ships. Dave began instructing in 2009. His favorite activity is instructing the ASA courses for Cruising Catamaran and Bareboat Chartering, anywhere you want to learn - especially in San Francisco Bay and tropical locations. Dave charters all over the World several times each year. He has sailed on four oceans and many seas.

Credentials:
ASA Certified Instructor in:
• Basic Keelboat Sailing (201)
• Basic Coastal Cruising (203)
• Bareboat Cruising (204)
• Coastal Navigation (205)
• Cruising Catamaran (214)
• Docking Endorsement (218)
• Coast Guard 50 Ton License
• Consultant to the distilled spirits industry
• Retired Senior Director at Apple
• Former championship-winning Motorcycle roadracer

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Mike, Santa Rosa, California

All of the courses and my instructors (JT and Stan) were extremely professional and full of knowledge and experience. I found I was able to learn from their experiences beyond the scope of the courses, and look forward to future opportunities to do so. I would highly recommend Modern Sailing to anyone.
John Clark

Every aspect of Modern Sailing - training, syllabus, course materials, quality of the boats, quality of the instructors, and the very friendly and helpful staff - exceeded my expectations. Modern Sailing has a first class sailing program in an environment with challenging winds and currents. I look forward to coming back to charter a boat and certainly plan to continue my sailing training.
Steve Hood, Basic Coastal Cruising

I would definitely recommend Modern Sailing to anyone who is interested in learning to sail the right way.
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.
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.

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Modern Sailing School & Club

Sausalito Location
2310 Marinship Way, Sausalito
(415) 331-8250
(800) 995-1668

Berkeley Location
1 Spinnaker Way, Berkeley
(415) 331-8250
(800) 995-1668

Map / Directions