Mark Showalter | Modern Sailing

Mark Showalter

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Mark has been sailing on San Francisco Bay for decades, cruising with friends and racing in beer can regattas. His sailing adventures have taken him beyond the Bay to Catalina, the British Virgin Islands, Croatia, St. Lucia and Thailand — and he's always planning his next international sailing trip.

Mark's path to Modern Sailing started through a prior career in tech, where he met Leigh Hunt — now Modern Sailing's owner and CEO. When the opportunity arose to bring his sailing passion into his professional life, Mark joined Modern Sailing as Fleet Service Manager at the newly opened Berkeley location. From there, he became Fleet Service Director, overseeing the Fleet Service team across both locations, then General Manager of the Berkeley location. In 2025, he stepped into the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Today, Mark oversees operations across all three Modern Sailing locations. He holds advanced ASA and US Sailing credentials. During his tenure as COO, Modern Sailing has grown into the largest sailing school on San Francisco Bay — three locations, a fleet of 50 boats, and an unmatched team.

"My passion is building strong teams and empowering them to succeed." Mark says. "We offer the broadest sailing curriculum on the Bay, and every day, our team is focused on one thing: making our members' sailing dreams come true.”

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  • Danny Collins

    The office staff was very accommodating in meeting my availability.

  • Sara Jane G.

    I've taken two classes at MSS&C and was very happy with the program. This is also a great club with lots of opportunities for camaraderie and practice on the water. The boats in the fleet are fantastic and kept in tip-top shape. I highly recommend for all sailors and would-be sailors!

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • John Boynton

    The class was terrific. I know you must get many compliments about your sailing instructors...But I must tell you that Robert is outstanding. Having taught SCUBA, I really appreciate the way he is so sensitive to all on board, dealing with each so well, knowing quickly their strengths and weaknesses making each feel special and cared for.

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