About Us

The Columbia Sailing School, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is highly regarded, diverse, and optimally located on the docks of the Columbia Yacht Club right off Randolph Street on Lake Michigan, with coaches trained to keep children safe, have fun, and learn.

Our youth programs provide education, from introductory sailing summer camps to advanced racing teams. Our youth alumni develop lifelong skills and friendships that lead to opportunities in high school, college, and international competitions, as well as life on the water.

Our adult sailing programs focus on new and intermediate sailors and are taught on our fleet of Colgate 26 sailboats. Our instructors are a combination of qualified and highly experienced volunteers and trained US Sailing certified instructors. Our programs cover introductions to sailing and racing.

We offer powerboat lessons tailored to adults and children (12+). It’s never too early to become familiar with the operation of a motorized vessel, whether it’s your sailboat’s dinghy, a racing mark set boat, or your go-fast boat.

Meet the Team

Kurt Thomsen

On The Water Director

Kurt grew up sailing with Columbia Yacht Club since he was six years old. He began sailing in Optis, Sunfish and competed in C420’s on a regional and national level. In 2018, Kurt was selected to join US Sailing’s National Faculty, where he works with leaders in sailing from around the country to help build the national standards and best practices for sailing in the US. Kurt is a US Sailing Level 1, 2, 3 Instructor/Coach Trainer, a Powerboat Instructor, and Keelboat Instructor Trainer. He is a Club Race Officer working on his Regional Certification. He has participated in running races across the country, including the Americas Cup World Series in Chicago and multiple World Cup Sailing events in Miami. Kurt has been running the Columbia Sailing Program for the last fifteen years, and the program has flourished under his direction.

In 2019, Kurt was selected as a representative of US Sailing into the International Coaching Enrichment Program. Here he joined an international group of coaches chosen to represent their country and sport at the US Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs.

Kurt also has experience coaching adult teams in various classes focusing on building team cohesion, boat handling, and tactical skills.

One of the most rewarding things for Kurt is witnessing the growth in confidence and independence as sailors progress through our program.

Tristan Loescher

Assistant On The Water Director, Adult Programs

Tristan was born and raised in Bermuda, where he began sailing Optimists at the age of 12. From then on, he was keen to gain experience sailing as many different vessels as possible. With a global education in Germany, Canada, and Japan, Tristan obtained a bachelor’s degree in Biogeosciences before returning home to focus his career on sailing.

Tristan has extensive experience with powerboats, dinghies, and keelboats, and his passion for sailing continues to take him to many places worldwide. He has helped manage large-scale nautical events, including the America’s Cup and Sail GP. Most recently, he competed in the 2022 Blokart World Championship in New Zealand, where he placed 3rd overall. Tristan is keen to bring his experience to Columbia Sailing School and to continue developing the Adult Keelboat Program!

Mike McBrien

Assistant On The Water Director, Youth Programs

Phoebe Lincoln

Digital Content Specialist

Summer Youth Sailing Staff

Betsy Finley

Opti Instructor

Betsy started sailing at Columbia Sailing School during the summer. Betsy just graduated from Jones College Prep, where she was a member of the Jones Sailing Team. This past year, she served as the Captain and qualified for 3 national regattas. Betsy is a fall and spring coach for the Junior Varsity Teams. This is Betsy’s third summer working in the summer program. Betsy is a US Sailing Level 1 coach, and has certifications in CPR, and Advanced Child Care by the American Red Cross. She can’t wait to get on the water this summer!

Frances Depke

Advanced 420 Instructor

Frances started sailing on Lake Michigan when she was eight and has been in love with sailing ever since. She joined Columbia Sailing School's race team in 2019. She graduated from Walter Payton College Prep in 2021 and was on her varsity high school sailing team for 4 years and elected co-captain for her senior year. She is currently a rising junior at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where she is a double major in sociology and environmental studies. She is a prominent member of the HWS sailing team and has helped bring them to nationals the past two years. This will be Frances's third year coaching at Columbia, and she is excited to spend the summer helping kids learn to love sailing just as much as she does!

Miles Silverman

Beginner 420 Instructor

Sydney Mandell

Siebel Instructor

Sydney started sailing on Lake Michigan when she was nine years old, and joined
Columbia Sailing School when she was thirteen. She was the captain of the Lane Tech Varsity
Sailing Team and was a member for four years. She is currently a rising sophomore at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison as a Mechanical Engineering major, and is a skipper on the
sailing team there. In her first year at Wisconsin, she traveled across the country to sail and
attended ICSA Women’s Fleet Racing Nationals in May. Sydney is a US Sailing Level 1
Instructor and this will be her fourth year coaching at Columbia. She is most looking forward to
sharing the sport she loves with kids and making learning fun and engaging.

Sam Childers

Opti Race Team

Julia Rose Scott

Beginner 420 Instructor

Julia began sailing when she was nine and has loved it ever since. She joined Columbia’s travel Race Team in 2018, where she competed in numerous regattas throughout the Midwest over the years. Julia will be graduating high school this summer and attending Rollins College, where she will be a Rollins College Sailing Team member. She is currently completing her US Sailing Level 1 certification. Julia is beyond excited to coach this summer!

Gavin Dempsey

Gavin has been sailing on the Great Lakes for the past ten years. He began sailing at Columbia when he joined his high school sailing team his freshman year, where he was elected captain as a junior and senior. Gavin is an incoming sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Real Estate & Urban Land Economics. Next year, Gavin will serve as the practice captain of the Wisconsin Sailing team, where he competes on the open dinghy and offshore team. In the summer he gets his racing fix in on various keelboats. Gavin is a US Sailing Level 1 Certified Instructor, and has been coaching at Columbia the past four years, teaching essentially every class Columbia has to offer from Prams to Adult Keelboat Learn to Race. Gavin loves sailing and hopes to spread his passion for sailing to all of his students.

Bella Ruffini

Keelboat Instructor

Bella has had 7 years of sailing experience and is on Whitney Young's Varsity Sailing Team. She is also on Whitney Young's Aerospace Team. This is her first year being a counselor and she is excited to get on the water!

Meredith White

Maddie Fitzgerald

Summer Adult Keelboat Staff

Paul Hermanson

Séamus Scott

Aldo Caronia

Tim Rice

Brad Horn

Mike Zollo

Interested in working with us?

Columbia Sailing School always looks for seasonal part-time Spring, Summer, and Fall Sailing Instructors experienced in Youth Sailing Camp and Adult Lessons Programming. We are a 501(c)3 organization housed within Columbia Yacht Club in downtown Chicago. Every year, we welcome over 500 kids ages 5-18 and an Adult Lessons program to the shorelines of Lake Michigan for classes ranging from adventure boating to high-performance racing.

APPLY HERE