Leigh Hunt | Modern Sailing

Leigh Hunt

President and CEO

An electrical engineer by education, Leigh was working in Product Management for Bay Area telecommunications companies before he decided to make sailing a profession and purchased Modern Sailing in July 2014.

Originally from Canada, Leigh began his sailing education at a Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) school in Ontario. After moving to California in 2004, he quickly found two ASA schools to help take his skills to the next level. He completed his ASA 106 at Modern Sailing by taking the 7 day Heavy Weather Offshore Course with John Connolly. Leigh has been chartering regularly with Modern Sailing since 2006, and has participated in many sailing events like our first Napa flotilla. He later joined John Connolly on an Offshore Passage Making Course in the South Pacific.

In addition to chartering locally on San Francisco Bay, sailing destinations have been a big part of Leigh's vacationing. Leigh has done destination charters in the Caribbean, deliveries in the Greek Med, and an ocean voyage from San Francisco to Maui, Hawaii. From 2009 to 2014, he volunteered for a San Francisco Bay non-profit, the Bluewater Foundation. The mission of this foundation is to help at-risk youth by providing them with enriching experiences sailing on SF Bay. In 2013, he began serving on the executive committee, and in 2014 he was named the President of the foundation.

Leigh is at heart an avid sailor. In addition to leading Modern Sailing and partner club Inspire Sailing in Berkeley, he is a licensed captain and certified ASA instructor. He always makes time in his busy schedule to get on the water (as often as possible!) to share his skills and passion for sailing with students and staff members.

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  • 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 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.

  • Ray Arceneaux

    The vessel was clean and in fine condition - very nice boat for training, well-equipped.

  • 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.

  • Emma & George Stubbs, Sausalito

    We just took our ASA 106 at a school in Rhode Island as we prepare for 6 months of cruising in the Caribbean. The class was great, but more than anything it made us really appreciate the quality of teaching and rigor at Modern Sailing. Even though we were the newest to sailing, the group seemed to think that we had the best fundamentals. We felt very well prepared and we see why Modern Sailing has the reputation it does.

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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

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