With SDYC Since 2019

Erik has been the Junior Sailing Program Director at SDYC since September of 2021 after having spent three years coaching at SDYC in the Sea Urchins, Adventure Sailing, Sabot racing, and CFJ racing programs. He is responsible for overseeing all Junior Sailing Department operations, managing the coaching staff, running program registration, and is available to answer any of your questions. You can find him in the Waterfront Office on the second floor of the Malin Burnham Sailing Center.

Erik grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, California and had his first sailing experience in Oceanside, California with family members who enjoyed cruising on their Catalina 36. When he was 14 years old he had his first formal sailing instruction through the Boy Scouts at Camp Cherry Valley on Catalina Island. He credits his instructors for igniting his passion and curiosity for sailing. He then returned to Catalina as a sailing instructor for several summers, eventually running the sailing and waterfront operations at the camp for two summers as a young college student. He started working at SDYC in 2019 while studying at San Diego State University where he began competing on the university’s sailing team and served as the team President for two years, later graduating with a degree in Political Science with minors in Sustainability and Public Law.

He is an active racer in the San Diego Snipe fleet and is excited for any opportunity to go racing, continue learning about sailing, and enjoying time on the water.

With SDYC Since 2021

Coach Jon’s first boat racing was in the gutters of Silver Strand Housing in Coronado, with shaped popsicle sticks. He never got certified at the Fiddlers Cove Navy YC but had unlimited access to Lido’s and Rebels from about, age 10. He bought his first Sabot with money made mowing lawns He drove his Dad crazy, reaching back and forth (for hours) in Glorietta Bay. His first two Sabot races were at SDYC and he got stuck in irons in both the first two races of his life and did not finish. He cried. His life was changed when he started racing Laser II’s at SDYC with Charlie Jenkins in 1980. Many SDYC families including the Lake’s and Peter’s and many friends like the Leadbetter’s and Ryan’s were instrumental in supporting and inspiring his passion. He went on to become a 2-time San Diego Yachtsman of the Year (’95 and ’03), has received the Alonzo de Jessop and John R. Rumsey Service Awards, has won the Lipton Cup twice (’98, ’01) and has won World and National titles in the J-24 (’97 &’98), Snipe (’03) and J-22 Class (’94). Jon lived in a Van for some winters in Miami while campaigning 470’s and has vast experience in a variety of sailing classes including Etchells, Thistles, and Lasers with additional time spent in keelboats including J-105’s, Farr 40’s, One Design 35’s and various PHRF boats. He became a JWorld Sailing School Instructor in 1989 and worked at the San Diego, Newport, Rhode Island and Key West, Florida locations. He was the Jr Program Director and then the Head Coach at Coronado Yacht Club for 24 years and has also coached for US Sailing, North U and CISA.

He has 3 daughters and his wife Jenny is an Elementary School Principal.

With SDYC Since 2025

Joe has been hard at work keeping SDYC’s fleets of powerboats, sailboats, and trailers ship-shame since joining the SDYC Juniors Sailing Department in April of 2025. Before working with SDYC, Joe served in the US Navy for five years as Surface Warfare Officer and Navigation Department Head. After leaving the Navy, Joe obtained a USCG 200T Master Captain license and worked as a captain on a myriad of vessels, from Australia to Alaska, and throughout the West Coast of North America.

In his free time, Joe is an avid waterman. He is a highly active boater, with a deep affinity for trawlers. As a liveaboard he enjoys spending time working on his boat and creates instructional content to share his knowledge with fellow boaters. Whether it’s captaining a boat, working on boats, diving for lobster, or sharing time with loved ones, when Joe is not at work, you will probably find him somewhere on the ocean.
 

With SDYC Since 2025

D’amy grew up sailing in San Diego first learning to sail and race at age 7 with Coach Jon Rogers at Coronado Yacht Club in her Sabot, O’cean (original number 262). She fell in love with the sport and began sailing C420s and CFJs learning the double-handed world but found her home sailing the Laser (ILCA). She began racing her Laser up and down the west coast (favorite venue being the Columbia River Gorge) and traveled across the country for events. Growing up, her favorite event was Leiter Cup. D’amy attended Coronado High School where she was a skipper on the sailing team. As a sophomore in high school, she partnered with Sailors for the Sea Powered by Oceana to become the first West Coast Ambassador and promote sustainable sailing practices on and off the water. For over a decade, she wrote science curriculum and produced videos for Sailors for the Sea. To this day she is part of their Skipper program promoting green regattas. She has spent several years coaching in the San Diego area, at Coronado YC and Mission Bay YC, focusing primarily on Advanced Laser Racing programs.

D’amy graduated from Duke double majoring in Biology and Environmental Science with concentrations in Ecology and Marine Science and Conservation. Her pursuit of science brought her to Guam where she completed a Master’s in Biology at the University of Guam where she focused on coral restoration and constructed a mathematical model to predict the outcomes of coral restoration methodologies.

Most recently, D’amy was a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow working in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs as a Congressional Affairs Fellow. D’amy is excited to be back in San Diego and accept a position with SDYC’s first-rate junior program. While she loves sailing Lasers, she is eager to join the Snipe fleet and sail keel boats. Any day on the water is a good day for D’amy!