Dustin is a cruiser at heart. He sails his own Sparkman & Stephens C38 and Bristol 29.9, runs a 12.5-foot Zodiac with a 25hp two-stroke Mercury across the Bay, surfs rough-water sessions, and uses the same boat for real work on the water.
That mix of speed, machinery, and competition started early — growing up around high-powered motorcycles, dirt bikes, jet skis, fast cars, and a family of competitive racers.
He also crews aboard Yellowfin, a J/105 racing on San Francisco Bay. Yellowfin is the winningest boat in the Berkeley Chowder race series, and Dustin has campaigned with her crew in the J/105 fleet at Rolex Big Boat Series, one of the premier regattas on the West Coast.
Over the years, Dustin has sailed, driven, motored, repaired, and learned aboard hundreds of vessels — from sailing dinghies and tenders to friends' boats, clients' vessels, previously owned boats, and large charter vessels.
Cruising gives him patience, systems awareness, and preparation. Racing sharpens his understanding of load, failure points, sail handling, and fast decisions under pressure. Living aboard many different vessels in various locations has taught him what actually holds up day after day — which systems you come to rely on, which ones quietly fail you, and what separates a boat that looks good at the dock from one you can genuinely live with.
Together, that experience shapes how Dustin surveys, teaches, and helps people understand the vessels beneath them.