In 1995, Kurt Holland was teaching sailing at Olympic Circle Sailing Club (OCSC) in Berkeley. Bay Area sailing school owners felt the sport’s instructional standards had eroded and approached US Sailing to create a new certification standard. Now called the US Sailing Keelboat Certification Program, Kurt was ranked number 1 in the first certification cohort by professional sailors from around the nation.

Kurt’s earlier years were challenging. He grew up on Lake Michigan’s shore in Chicago. Finding that high school was not a good fit, he left at age 16 for Waikiki, where he swam, sailed, and worked on tourist boats. On his 18th birthday he joined the Navy, where he was assigned to vessels in San Diego, Central America, and Asia before landing back in Hawaii.

In the Navy, Kurt found mentors who changed the trajectory of his life. They sorted him out, providing structure where he could thrive. He became a Navy rescue swimmer and founded a Navy sailing club. As a rescue swimmer/lifelong waterman, Kurt has plucked 21 people from the ocean. As a sailor, he has won local regattas on J/24s, Cal-20s, and Rhodes 19s.

Leaving the Navy in 1983, Kurt set sail onboard a Canadian-owned Niagara 35, headed from Hawaii to Victoria, BC. A week into the voyage another crew member—a fuzzy thinker—couldn’t understand why it was getting so cold. He thought he had signed on to go to Victoria, South Australia.

Seeking big winds, Kurt made port on San Francisco Bay, continuing his lifelong relationship with boats and the ocean. He taught sailing for OCSC, worked for J/World in Florida, and ran charter boats in the Caribbean. Realizing that sailing would not pay the bills, he turned to motor vessels, serving as AB, Mate, and Captain for Crowley and CruiseWest. In 1989 he went to Alaska to support the Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup. This proved life-altering, as he witnessed cleanup errors caused by lack of science literacy. Motivated by this experience, he went to college and launched an ongoing effort to recruit the next generation of ocean stewards. Good fortune smiled on him when he met Erin, a competitive racing sailor, as she worked to sand the bottom of a J/24. Bonded by a love of the ocean, adventure, and sailing, they rebuilt, moved aboard, and cruised a 41-foot sloop from San Francisco to Maine via the Panama Canal.

Coming ashore, Kurt joined Big Picture Learning, working at the Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH) as a science teacher (video). He continues to work alongside the educational activists at BPL as a regional coordinator for the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative and as the leader of the Working Waterfront Initiative.

Beyond being a vocal supporter of the Sailing Science Center, Kurt has joined the SSC’s founding Advisory Committee, which will have its first convening later this year. We are humbled by Kurt’s accomplishments and honored by his support. He is a model of excellence.

In January the SSC began World Class, a new program for SSC volunteers that focuses on building excellence. In our first session we explored what it means to be world-class by looking at examples of people, places (companies), and products our team felt were world-class.

We are delighted to announce the election of Philip (Pip) Ziman to the SSC Board of Directors. Pip has been volunteering for the SSC since 2019 and was crucial to the success of the SSC's 2019 and 2021 galas.

Pip studied economics and psychology at UC Santa Cruz and holds an MBA from San Jose State. He recently retired from his career as a human resources professional. As seen in previous issues of this newsletter, Pip has also volunteered his boat and services for multiple SSC volunteer events.

We are very happy to include Pip on the SSC leadership team!

We now have an events calendar on our website where you can find upcoming events and exhibitions. The calendar is for both volunteer and public events.

Our goal is to make it easier for you to track and engage with the SSC. You can see the new calendar here.

We are still waiting for the Treasure Island ferry service to commence. At issue is the operator getting final approval from the California Public Utilities Commission. We learned as we were going to print that the CPUC has put the issue on their February 10 meeting agenda. We are hopeful that service will begin before the end of the month.

Happy Lunar New Year! On the lunar calendar, the year begins on the first new moon between January 21 and February 21. This year, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger!

Archimedes Tank Under Construction

We learned in January that our go-to source for high-level acrylic fabrication was closing down the acrylics division of their business. This is unfortunate, because many of the SSC's exhibits are expected to be clear tanks made of acrylic.

We are researching other options, including working directly with the craftsman of the aforementioned fabricator.

This month's banner celebrates excellence with a view through the interior of the restored 1939 Knud Reimers yacht, Tre. The architecture, intricacy, and attention to detail on this 14.25 meter sloop all speak of excellence. You can see more pictures and learn more about this stunning yacht by clicking here.