Captain Ed Mapes

Ed Mapes describes himself as a sailor who began his nautical career “when Moby Dick was a minnow”.  It may not actually be that long, but after 97,000 miles on the water, it has spanned four decades.  Beginning as a cruiser and then avid racer in the Great Lakes, Ed’s first offshore passage was in 1987, and he’s been “salty’ ever since. A licensed US Coast Guard Master Mariner since 1985, Ed is now the author of three books and has contributed magazine articles to several national publications. He is a Contributing Editor at Sailing Magazine.

His first book, Ready to Sail, detailed the system of boat inspection that Ed developed while performing 64 deliveries of a wide range of sailing vessels.  Further Offshore, his second book, provides information that takes the reader from the first inkling of buying a boat through the steps necessary in preparing the home front, vessel, and crew for sailing the oceans.  Once the day of departure arrives, the book describes the steps involved in completing an ocean passage to make a successful landfall on a foreign shore. 

Ready to Sail, second edition with updated information a two extra chapters, was endorsed by Don Street and released in April of ’09.  The next book, Safer Offshore – Jury Rigging and Handling Emergencies at Sea – is now in the publisher’s hands and should be ready for a Fall 2010 release.

Ed is one of a handful of American Sailing Association instructors certified to teach courses ranging from Basic Keelboat to Advanced Coastal Cruising, Celestial Navigation, and Offshore Passagemaking.

He is also a member of the faculty and has written several courses for the on-line sailing education web site, Nautic-Ed, and will also provide courses for the Seven Seas Cruising Association’s program in the near future.

As owner of Voyager Ocean Passages, Ed provided instruction for sailing the oceans aboard his vessel Voyager during actual offshore passages, and has sailed with over 100 students in the last five years.  Ed provides an array of sailing seminars at venues throughout the country, and still manages to fit in a “tasty” delivery on occasion.