Steve Matles | Modern Sailing

Steve Matles

Instructor

Steve began sailing as a summer camper at age ten. At 15 he had a 19-foot Flying Scot sailboat on the reservoirs of Oklahoma. In 1981 he moved to Reno, NV and began his teaching career at Lake Tahoe, then working for Modern Sailing while on a job assignment in San Rafael. Steve holds a US Coast Guard 100 Ton license with Sailing endorsement.  As an ASA instructor, he is qualified to teach almost all courses up to ASA 106, Advanced Coastal Cruising. Additionally, Steve holds a Royal Yachting Association Yachtmaster-Offshore certificate. His log has passages on Lake Superior, Gulf of Mexico, California Coast, Caribbean, Scotland and England. He recently crossed the English Channel.   Steve is a retired Healthcare Safety Officer and Disaster Manager. “I might be slightly risk-adverse,” he tells his students as he emphasizes the need for safety in all aspects of sailing. However, “I want to create a safe-space for students to allow them to make mistakes so they can learn first-hand. Direct experience is a great teacher.” 

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  • Lisa Butzer Wilde

    Thumbs up to (Club Skipper) Geoff (Love) and his wife Laura. I went on my first Club Sail on Sunday, January 18, 2026. They were terrific!

  • Steve Hood, Basic Coastal Cruising

    I would definitely recommend Modern Sailing to anyone who is interested in learning to sail the right way.

  • Salesforce (Ashley H.)

    Our team at Salesforce did the Corporate Regatta Team Buidling activity (August 2026). What a blast!! HIghly recommend for your next team activity. It's fun to be out on the water, but the skippers also did a great job of teaching us all the sailing basics. The race is set up well so that we all had a chance to try out different roles. We did it with 11 people across two boats but having more boats is also doable and would lead to even more competition.

  • Trudy Flores

    Captain Jeff Cathers is really cool. I had such a great time on the Farallones Day Trip. It was actually my very best day of 2020. Thank you so much for coordinating the trip.

  • Esther C

    I took ASA 101 with them recently. They have the best customer service I've ever seen! I mistyped my address when I signed up online so didn't receive the textbook. I called and the lady immediately sent me another copy! Everyone at the club is super friendly.

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