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"We sail these historic wooden boats because we enjoy the unique individuals they attract, the rarefied atmosphere they generate, and because we are all hopeless romantics."
Our purpose is to provide a safe, reliable, and marvelous trip for our wide range of guests. To operate a vessel at sea requires a great diversity of talents and skills. In addition to maritime expertise, our crew members all come from rich and various life experiences. They are here to share their world with you, and to make our boat a comfortable home for your Pacific Northwest adventure.
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BILL BAILEY
CAPTAIN: 200 TON MASTERS, ENGINEER, CHIEF SANDER, PRESIDENT, WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER
Beginning in 1964, at the impressionable age of 12, Bill spent afternoons with a master craftsman who was in the midst of a 5-year boat building project. His time in that shop ruined him! He was infected with saw dust, turpentine and metal polish. The only relief he has ever found is to own and operate traditional wooden boats.
At 19 he bought a 32' engineless mahogany sloop and sailed her in the San Diego area for several years. He was in the process of re-building her into an off-shore voyager when love intervened and he married his first (and only!) wife, Shannon. The arrival of their first child 10 months later resulted in the conversion of the boat into a washing machine, a dryer, and a car with seat belts.
In the 1980's Bill and Shannon moved to the Northwest and began a fishing business. For 4-years Bill was on the water at least 200 days per year, fishing for crab, salmon and dog fish. Their boat was a 1936 Bristol Bay sailboat that had been (crudely) converted to power. 2 months after they committed everything they had to this new venture, the boat sank at the dock during a severe storm. Bill raised her himself, got her running, and within a week was back fishing. The next spring he hauled her home and completed a three-month re-build (much to the neighbors' consternation and amazement!).
Bill also worked as a deck hand in Alaska on different commercial fishing boats. He was struck with the wild beauty of Alaska and vowed to someday return with his family.
The Bailey family moved to San Juan Island in 1989, where Bill hoped to return to commercial fishing. Economics and judicial actions spelled the end of fishing as a way of life, and Bill turned to construction as a vocation. During this time the Bailey's owned two classic cruising boats, the first, a 1946, 33' Monk design. The second was a 1947, 42' Bill Garden designed commercial troller. These boats were used to take family and friends on many wonderful voyages.
15 years and 50 homes, barns and offices later it is time to return to the sea to make our living.
Finally.
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STEVE MORRELL
CAPTAIN: 200 TON MASTERS, FIRST AID & CPR
Steve was born in San Antonio, Texas and raised on the sand dunes of San Francisco. He received his college education at UC Santa Barbara, earning a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology and a Master's degree in Zoology. He also learned to sail.
He spent his first post-college decade (the 70's) studying foxes in the San Joaquin Valley, seabirds in the Antarctic, and marine mammals and seabirds on the Farallon Islands west of San Francisco. He also bought a 30' sailboat in which he explored San Francisco Bay.
Nearly 30 years ago, ready for a major change and preparing to move to New Zealand, Steve accepted an offer from a college friend to spend the summer fishing for salmon in Alaska. Although he has since returned to New Zealand several times, he was captivated by Alaska. He spent eighteen summers fishing for salmon, mostly in Southeast Alaska, and one year working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a flora and fauna survey of Saint Matthew Island in the Bering Sea.
Steve finds the natural beauty and power of Southeast Alaska both nurturing and appropriately overwhelming. He considers every boat trip a new adventure and he loves sharing the adventures and experiencing the wilderness with our guests.
Steve lives in Mt. Shasta, California with his sweetheart and their two cats. He migrates north each summer. He has his USCG 200 ton Master's license and is trained in First Aid and CPR.
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ERIC “NEWT” RASMUSSEN
ENGINEER, WINTER MAINTENANCE
Eric lives on a tugboat, the NEWT on Lake Union with his wife, daughter and son. He takes off from his "real job" working at a ship yard to vacation with us a few weeks on the CATALYST. He also works on her in the winter making sure all the pipes and wires look neat after a major job rebuilding and remodeling, and cleaning up the engine and brightening the brass, after the Washington diesel has an overhaul. He’s full of bright ideas and has the gift of implementing them as well.
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ERIK DURFEY
ENGINEER
Erik Durfey has been lured back to working once more in the CATALYST engine room. The position as ships engineer in SE Alaska utilizes Erik's skills and experience fully. He loves the challenges and the immersion into both the mechanical and natural worlds. Erik came from the high tech computer world with some mechanical engineering on the side. His past work was of an esoteric nature which now allows his diverse and unusual skills to be used in the best possible way aboard the CATALYST. He’s traveled the world by small plane and boat; spends part of his winters on the island of Molokai, and calls Port Townsend, WA his home. There, he is rebuilding a wood boat for his own use.
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ADRIAN LIPP
ENGINEER
After spending the winter working on old engines, Adrian, is ready to play with the CATALYST in SE Alaska. He got interested in the art of repairing older marine engines while a Sea Scout, and has become one of a few that know how to rebuild and keep these lovely old ladies running smoothly. In his spare time, Adrian works at creating fun and community, sharing his talents in juggling, cooking, and raising chickens with friends and family. He is also active in The Center for Wooden Boat in Seattle and in restoring the ARTHUR FOSS, a hundred foot tugboat owned by the Northwest Seaport. Now having purchased the SKILLFUL, an elderly small wooden tug, he is adding her to his passion for wood boats and engines.
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SHANNON BAILEY
ADMINISTRATOR/TRIP CO-ORDINATOR/VICE PRESIDENT / KAYAK GUIDE, NATURALIST, DECKHAND AND CHEF, WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER
Shannon tends the home fires and the office on San Juan Island, “decorates” the CATALYST, and rejoices in taking trips aboard the CATALYST as kayak guide, naturalist, deckhand and/or chef through the spring, summer and fall.. She is a certified Alaska Naturalist through the University of Alaska, SE and is a member of the Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists. She received her BA in Communication Studies and Political Science from UC Santa Barbara and delights in using all of this “knowledge” in creating community aboard the CATALYST. She listed her occupation as sheep farmer until she and Bill purchased the CATALYST, and she took on the marketing and administrative duties of the business. Eventually she added naturalist/kayak guide and chef to her repertoire. Though there are still sheep on their farm and a horse as well, Shannon is pursuing her studies in photography, natural history and science rather than delivering lambs. Her sister also claims her as the best cook, this after practicing on her family of six for thirty four years. And remember to smile when she’s aboard, because she’s often taking your picture!
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SARAH DRUMMOND
NATURALIST, KAYAK GUIDE, DECKHAND, ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
Sarah Drummond's passion for the natural world began at an early age, and she has kept illustrated field journals since she was twelve. Sarah graduated from Maine's College of the Atlantic, where her studies emphasized general ecology, island ecosystems, and art. In 2005 Sarah was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship and completed a year of travel in Argentina, French Polynesia, New Zealand , Australia, and Greenland, focusing on the important role of artists on exploratory expeditions. Re-visiting many of the places described by these intrepid naturalist artists, she produced an extraordinary collection of watercolor paintings and field journals, recording her own "voyage of discovery" in a changing world. Sarah spent a summer season working as a guide and naturalist in Glacier Bay and part of last summer aboard the CATALYST in the same position. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies at Prescott College . We welcome her back for another stint aboard sharing her vast experience and joyous spirit.
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LIA STAMATIOU
NATURALIST, KAYAK GUIDE, DECKHAND
Lia Stamatiou is a Seattle native taking leave from her position as Research Scientist with the Wetland Ecosystem Team at the University of Washington to sail as naturalist. Her professional background focuses on estuarine and shoreline ecology especially in the context of juvenile salmonid use, and she has worked in areas throughout Puget Sound and the Columbia River estuary. She is one of those lucky people who loves their job because, mostly she just waits for the tide to go out so she can play in the mud.
Lia is equal parts traveler and homebody. Most recently she traveled to Newfoundland and toured 350 miles of the Northern Peninsula by bicycle, swapping stories and jokes with the locals, and studying the flora and fauna along the way. Her favorite answer when asking someone about the name of one ubiquitous plant was "well, mostly we just call them weeds". Back home she loves to garden and watch the chickens. Lia is a certified Alaska Naturalist with the University of Alaska SE, and is looking forward to her second season aboard Catalyst.
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ENSAN BRODSKY
CHEF
Ensan's enthusiasm for cooking was sparked by the home cooking of village women on Crete when she was 16. Her cooking sensibility has since been formed by her travels, with a deep appreciation for local and seasonal fare. As a student at Williams College, she worked in a bakery and helped run a weekly vegetarian lunch for 100 people. Since graduating, she has spent most of her time in Japan, studying in a zen monastery as well as doing hospice and birthing assistant work. In southeast Alaska, she has cooked aboard several charter boats and spends as much time as possible exploring by kayak. She is currently studying to be a nurse practitioner.
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TRACIE TRIOLO
CHEF
Tracie grew up in Boulder Colorado where she developed a passion for food, music and the outdoors. She began working at an early age in her family's restaurant and spent most of her spare time, playing music, skiing, backpacking, and refining her back country cooking skills. Many summer vacations were in a remote cabin on a lake in northern Wisconsin, where swimming, canoeing, fishing and harvesting wild edibles consumed most of the long days. She now lives in Mendocino County California during the school year and teaches woodwinds at the Ukiah School of Music. She plays piccolo and flute with local symphony orchestras and Baritone Saxophone in jazz bands. Tracie uses cooking on charter boats as an excuse to return to southeast Alaska every summer and the money earned to support her decadent musician lifestyle the rest of the year.
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CHRISTINE SMITH
CHEF
Christine started working on tour and whale watching boats in 2001 and began cooking on boats in 2006. As a child she spent hours in her grandmother’s garden where she learned the value of fresh home-made food. As your cook she is dedicated to bring you the distinct flavor of the Pacific Northwest. When not in the galley Christine keeps busy trail running, bird watching and skiing. She maintains a small garden business and also works with her husband restoring a former fishing boat that was built in 1929.
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ERICA FICKEISEN
CHEF
Erica is back. She use to spend her southern hemisphere summers cooking in Antarctica and her northern hemisphere summers vacationing in Southeast Alaska cooking for CATALYST guests and crew. Then she met her one true love and married him in Antarctica and decided that home with him in Washington was best. After a brief stint in the world of haute couture pastry (using those skills from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris) Erica now spends her days baking all manner of treats for the students and staff at PLU in Tacoma. She and her husband are currently in the process of ripping their house apart and putting it back together again piece by piece. We promised her some quiet moments of knitting and reading before Dawes Glacier if she would spend some time with us this summer.
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FORMER CREW UPDATES:
ANNE CATHERINE ("AC OR ACE") KRUGER,
CHEF
Anne Catherine has pursued a dream and bought her self a restaurant “A Caprice Kitchen” in Ballard, WA. See www.capricekitchen.com for details.
CARL JOHNSON,
ENGINEER
Carl enjoyed the summer off working on the Catalyst last year, but has now returned to his job in communications on San Juan Island. He’s said if you need me….
ELIJAH BAILEY
NATURALIST, KAYAK GUIDE, DECKHAND, AND MAINTENANCE CREW
Eli is building homes on San Juan Island and remodeling his own with his sweetie. He helps to get the CATALYST ready in the spring and occasionally crews locally.
OTHER CREW MEMBERS MAY BE SEEN AGAIN……… |
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