Jeff Cathers | Modern Sailing

Jeff Cathers

ASA Master Instructor

When Jeff Cathers was 17 years old, a classmate told him that he and his father were going to sail to Hawaii for his summer vacation. Jeff was awestruck at the notion and couldn’t imagine how it was possible to cross a giant ocean in a small sailboat. Captivated by the idea, Jeff asked his classmate a million questions and soon knew that he wanted to learn everything about sailing, the sea, the explorers and their ships.

Since then, Jeff learned to sail and went on to skipper several bareboat charters in British Virgin Islands, La Paz, Key West, Tahiti, and on the California coast, including two "Baja Ha-Ha" cruiser rallies. Still fascinated with sailing and lifelong learning of the sport, Jeff now loves to share his passion for sailing with others by teaching the skills, lessons, and destinations that he has personally experienced. He has taught sailing lessons in Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, the British Virgin Islands, and now here in the Bay Area with Modern Sailing as an ASA Master Instructor Evaluator leading other sailors to become instructors themselves.

As an explorer and tour guide at heart, Jeff enjoys demonstrating the best approaches to sailing the San Francisco Bay, cruising in exotic places, and adventuring with friends and family. He is always thirsty to discover what lies over the next horizon and to share what he finds with others.

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  • 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.

  • Lucas Hendren

    Got my ASA 101 here, very professional and well run class.

  • Emma & George Stubbs, Sausalito

    We just took our ASA 106 at a school in Rhode Island as we prepare for 6 months of cruising in the Caribbean. The class was great, but more than anything it made us really appreciate the quality of teaching and rigor at Modern Sailing. Even though we were the newest to sailing, the group seemed to think that we had the best fundamentals. We felt very well prepared and we see why Modern Sailing has the reputation it does.

  • 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!

  • Danny Collins

    The office staff was very accommodating in meeting my availability.

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