Cruiser's Workshop

Lee is a USCG-certified Standard Training Certification and Watch Standing for Seafarers (STCW) instructor teaching courses designed generally for professional merchant mariners. On the other end of the spectrum, Lee is also a regular presenter at U.S. Sailing and West Marine sponsored Safety at Sea (SAS) seminars and conducts short course symposia programs at trade shows such as Sail America's Strictly Sail, catered to the recreational cruising and racing community.

Lee began his career in marine weather as a marine weather forecaster for the U.S. Navy and went on to serve as a route analyst for a large private commercial weather and ship routing firm. He then became Senior Marine Meteorologist for NOAA/NWS's Ocean Prediction Center where he provided detailed marine and oceanographic warnings, analyses and forecasts, and routing advice on a global, synoptic, and micro-scale scope, covering all oceans and seasons.

Steve has been employed continuously in the marine industry since 1988, beginning as a mechanic and electrician and, in 1994 going on to manage boat yards in North Carolina and Virginia. In that same year, he published his first article, "Upgrading the Electrical System" in Cruising World magazine. Since that time he has written hundreds of technical, seamanship, destination, boat review and historical articles for various publications, including Professional Boat Builder (Contributing Editor), Ocean Navigator (Contributing Editor), PassageMaker (Technical Editor), Cruising World (Contributing Editor), Nautical World, Seaworthy, Soundings, and Practical Sailor among others. Steve is a graduate of Boston College (1986) and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science with an emphasis in Russian/Soviet history and affairs. He managed Zimmerman Marine Inc, a custom boat builder and refit yard, located on Mobjack Bay, Virginia, from September 1996 through October 2007.

In November 2007 Steve resigned his position at Zimmerman to start Steve D'Antonio Marine Consulting, Inc. (www.stevedmarineconsulting.com), which offers marine systems consulting and pre-purchase services to boat owners, boat builders, and others within the marine industry.

Captain John Martino holds a 500 Gross Ton, All-Oceans captain's license from the US Coast Guard. He is an experienced professional captain with a 20-year background in marine training, as well as more than 1500 sea days upon waters ranging from the Great Lakes to Panama. John has served as captain on ocean-going vessels up to 105 feet, and has done extensive yacht delivery work.

As founder and president of Annapolis School of Seamanship, he produces and leads courses ranging from basic navigation and seamanship for recreational boaters to professional mariner training for licensed captains up to 200 gross tons. John also writes boat reviews for Chesapeake Bay Magazine.

Ralph Naranjo is the Technical Editor of Practical Sailor, and is currently writing a Seamanship book for McGraw Hill. For 10 years he served as the Vanderstar Chair at the U.S. Naval Academy, overseeing the sail training program and acting as the Academy's lead agent on the development of the new Navy 44-foot sail training sloops. He moderates U.S. Sailing Safety at Sea Seminars, is a past Chairman of the Safety at Sea Committee, and has written extensively about a wide range of marine topics.

His sailing experience includes a family voyage around the world aboard his sloop Wind Shadow. For 15 years he served as a judge for Cruising World magazine's "Boat of the Year" Contest, he has managed a full service boatyard, consulted on boat building projects, and strongly believes that "self reliance, capable seamanship, and weather awareness" are an offshore voyager's best allies.