Steve Matles | Modern Sailing

Steve Matles

Instructor

You’ve got to really love sailing when you launch your first boat in the “mud puddles” of Oklahoma reservoirs. It was a 19-foot Flying Scot, a daysailer that followed him from Tulsa, to Galveston, and finally to Lake Tahoe where he turned it in for a 28-foot Lancer. Steve currently owns Moon Dance, a Bavaria 42 Cruiser in the Berkeley Platinum Fleet.

At 10, Steve got the sailing bug as a summer camper on one of the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota. His log book shows passages which included Lake Superior the British Virgin Islands, Dry Tortugas, Galveston Bay and Scotland. More recently, he sailed Moon Dance down from Seattle, and Coho II up from the LA area.

In 1981 Steve moved to Reno where he began sailing Lake Tahoe. In 2016, while on assignment at a hospital in the Bay Area, Steve began teaching for Modern Sailing on weekends, though his home base remained in Reno.

Steve is an ASA instructor for Basic Keelboat, Costal, Bareboat, and Advanced Coastal Cruising classes, as well as Coastal Navigation. He holds a Coast Guard 50-ton license (with Sailing Endorsement) and is also a Royal Yachting Association Coastal Yachtmaster.

Steve recently retired as a Healthcare Safety Officer and Disaster Manager. “I might be slightly risk-adverse,” Steve tells his students as he emphasizes the need for safety in all aspects of sailing. He and his wife, Marty, have two grown children, in all in Reno. 

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  • Sara Jane G.

    I've taken two classes at MSS&C and was very happy with the program. This is also a great club with lots of opportunities for camaraderie and practice on the water. The boats in the fleet are fantastic and kept in tip-top shape. I highly recommend for all sailors and would-be sailors!

  • John Boynton

    The class was terrific. I know you must get many compliments about your sailing instructors...But I must tell you that Robert is outstanding. Having taught SCUBA, I really appreciate the way he is so sensitive to all on board, dealing with each so well, knowing quickly their strengths and weaknesses making each feel special and cared for.

  • John Clark

    Every aspect of Modern Sailing - training, syllabus, course materials, quality of the boats, quality of the instructors, and the very friendly and helpful staff - exceeded my expectations. Modern Sailing has a first class sailing program in an environment with challenging winds and currents. I look forward to coming back to charter a boat and certainly plan to continue my sailing training.

  • John Kratochvil, Oregon

    I would like to compliment Stan Lander for his coaching, counseling and teaching Heavy Weather Offshore Sailing. Stan was very accommodating to all of the student's interests and shared his many years of insight on handling the boat in heavy seas. I would certainly recommend Stan and this course to sheltered waters sailors. My confidence in handling a boat of this size was certainly enhanced by the experience.

  • Steve Hood, Basic Coastal Cruising

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

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Modern Sailing School & Club

Sausalito Location
2310 Marinship Way, Sausalito
(415) 331-8250
(800) 995-1668

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