About

Pacific Northwest native Mark Brown first sailed at 17 during a year-long youth exchange in Adelaide, South Australia. Following an experience partially navigating that continent on a 40’ race boat, Mark began a lifelong love of the water.  As a professional captain since 2014, he has logged nearly 30,000 nautical miles, offering him vast expertise with numerous powered and sailing vessels in locales throughout the world.  Mark’s passion is sharing his boating expertise with others and skippering unforgettable charters.

Captain Mark’s love of sailing became obvious when as a child, he rigged his mother’s bedsheet as a sail to blow him down the street on roller skates. His current career path wasn’t direct, but everything he did led up to it.  A fascination with travel directed his education to a B.S. degree in Geography and Regional Planning from WWU in Bellingham, Washington – of course, a coastal town.  While in college, he continued his passion for the water with collegiate dinghy racing, teaching USSA Dinghy and Windsurfing courses, and spent a year with the Bellingham Yacht Club as Junior Sailing Team Coach.

Along the way, Captain Mark raced weekly on Bellingham Bay and raised two daughters, while always working in “people-oriented” jobs ranging from real estate sales to cab driving.  His cruise clientele always offers rave reviews on the enjoyable time they have talking to Mark.  A sociable captain makes every trip unforgettable.  His favorite life-changing moment was realizing that he could teach AND sail, allowing him the opportunity to do two of the things he loves most.

Professional Captain Mark is based in Anacortes, Washington, his favorite gateway to the northwest’s San Juan Islands, although he teaches and charters boating trips throughout the Caribbean and many locales worldwide. He works full time, averaging over 100 paid sea time days annually on both sail and power vessels 30 to 90 feet in length.  His favorite hobbies include kitesurfing in Mexico and the Columbia Gorge, gourmet cooking with local fare, skiing, reading, road cycling and entertaining his many friends from previous cruises.  He is continually upgrading his knowledge and experience to enhance his services for future clients in yet to be explored locales.

CERTIFICATION & QUALIFICATIONS