|
Captain's
Bio
“Experience Matters”
Captain
Brenton Lochridge is a lifelong boater who grew up power-cruising
the Chesapeake Bay aboard his family’s 36ft Hatteras. At
the age of seven, Brenton was sent to sailing camp and discovered
a passion that would consume him ever since; growing from avid
dinghy sailor to accomplished offshore racer and cruiser.
By age sixteen, Brenton was teaching
sailing in Westport, CT at the largest community sailing
program in the country. He
spent his free time developing his big boat handling skills
at the local yacht club and realized that he would spend his
life on the water.
As a student at Maine Maritime Academy,
Brenton received extensive training on a variety of sail
and commercial powerboats up to 600 feet in length. As a freshman, he was asked to
develop and administer sailing curriculum to all underclassman
to meet their physical education requirement. He became
a certified skipper in the school’s cruising program
and was chosen to be the alternate helmsman/main-trim for the
school’s offshore racing team.
While at the Academy, Brenton gained
extensive local knowledge of waters from Maine to New York
City and at age 19, he started his own private yacht delivery
service between Cape Cod and Penobscot Bay; moving boats
between these prime cruising grounds.
After school, Brenton continued his career
as a US Sailing Instructor in Westport, CT, until taking
an opportunity to move to the British Virgin Islands to sail
year-round as a sailing instructor/school manager and freelance
charter-boat captain in 1995.
In 1998, the Vice President of US Sailing
asked Brenton to move up to Greenwich, CT to start a new
community sailing program. Within
the first week of operation, the school became the second largest
junior sailing program on Long Island Sound, earning national
recognition from US Sailing as the “Outstanding New Program,
1998.” Within a few years, this program would grow
into one of the largest sailing programs in the North East.
During the off-season, Brenton delivered
yachts of all makes, models, and sizes throughout New England,
down the Eastern Seaboard, and offshore into the Caribbean. He
taught boating safety courses most weekends and had a successful
high school coaching career, helping a young team take top
honors at the county and state level after a few seasons.
As Brenton’s reputation grew, additional opportunities
arose. Brenton was asked to be featured in the US Sailing
Small Boat Sailor online training videos and to be a guest
speaker at US Sailing Symposiums. He has worked as a
consultant to various community sailing programs throughout
New England, and has been called upon by numerous yacht clubs
to help create and administer special learn to sail/race programs.
Over the years, Brenton has been mentored
by industry leaders from around the country, given the opportunity
to interact with world-class instructors from around the
globe, and has held senior management/instructional positions
at award winning programs within the United States and abroad.
Brenton’s home is quite literally on the water. Although
he lives aboard a cruising sailboat and spends much time out
on a race course, you will frequently find him exploring local
waters in various center console powerboats as well as delivering
much larger express and convertible cruisers. He enjoys
the pleasures that both activities provide and understands
the limitations each activity may have.
|