Meet our Captains
Marlin
Marlin Ledin
Marlin Ledin is a self taught sailor from the Minnesconsigan region of Lake Superior. He built his own steel sailboat and sails it year round on Lake Superior. He has been a licensed captain since 2013 and would love to take you sailing!
Jon
Jon Small
As a world-travelling Wisconsin native –from the rugged Himalayas to the cloud forests of the Andes, Sri Lankan shores to the South African Natal, Galapagos to Manhattanoes– I have been very fortunate to have had many “once in a lifetime” experiences. What matters most to me now, is sharing my passion for our home and fostering connections to this unique and beautiful place, the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior.
When you sail with me, bring your curiosity, your sense of adventure, and your willingness to learn and try something new. On my trips, you will sail the boat, or simply enjoy the ride; everything is available
In the offseason/afterhours I enjoy traveling, silent sports and camping.
Matt
Matt Birhle
Hello, my name is Matt! I grew up surrounded by the northern Wisconsin lakes and have always loved being on the water. I have a background in science and outdoor education and spend most of my year sailing on sailing school vessels (SSVs) across the Atlantic and Pacific. Though I have logged many saltwater miles, I have never forgotten about the beauty of Lake Superior and am excited to help others experience the lake from a whole new perspective. When not sailing, I spend my time playing piano, cycling, and scheming of ways to get back on the water.
Greg
Greg Sumner
Greg got hooked with sailing back in the 90’s when he was the waterfront director at a summer camp in Northern MN. I have worked in various educational environments from camps, public education and coaching where I enjoy helping people work together to accomplish a goal while having a good time doing it. In the last few years I have been lucky enough really get back into sailing and was able live on my boat for a summer while sailing the Duluth area and Apostle Islands.
In the offseason/afterhours I enjoy traveling, silent sports and camping. I just finished the Camino de Santiago this spring and am looking forward to another summer in Bayfield!
Alec
Alec Malenfant
Ahoy! I'm Alec (he/him), I grew up on a Minnesota hobby farm with llamas and emus, grew up playing all sorts of sports and games, and got real hooked on outdoor adventures in college! I've been sailing and racing boats for almost a decade now and for the last four years I've been teaching kids as young as five how to raise some canvas into the wind on this big lake of ours! While sailing takes the majority of my warm waking hours, the colder ones are filled with snowboarding, mountain biking, a touch of photography, and a whole lot of social time! Teach me a board game or narrowly beat me in a card game, I'll be up for a chat and a smile wherever. Ask me about North Coast Community Sailing!
Maureen
Maureen Zishka
Growing up I became interested in sailing while sailing on a small boat on Lake Calhoun. After college, my husband and I bought a small sunfish in need of repair and the sailing craziness started then in earnest. I have been sailing the Apostle Islands for over 40 years having owned three boats in the Apostle Islands Marina. We live on our sailboat, Mocha, for the three summer months. Mocha is a Pearson 37 RC. Our permanent home is in Gulf Shores, Alabama having moved there going on 6 years ago. Besides sailing and boating, I love most anything outdoors including tennis. Included in my family are my husband, two grown children and two dogs, Rosie and Milo.
Matt
Matt Edmunds
I have enjoyed sailing my entire life -- first cutting my teeth sailing on Minnesota and Wisconsin inland lakes.
Our family always owned a sailboat. Some of our families’ most memorable times were sailing in the Apostles and back and forth to Isle Royale. After 30 years in Chequamegon Bay I continue to love everything about our great lake. I’m a log home contractor by trade but being on the water is what I love. My favorite thing about working for All Hands is their encouragement of everyone learning the joys of sailing. There is magic in the wind and water - I want everyone to get to enjoy it.
Brandi
Brandi Shapland
Hey there! My name is Brandi and I am originally from Nebraska! You might be thinking, how does someone from Nebraska become a sailboat captain? I was lucky enough to grow up on a lake and spent my childhood on the water. I have lived on the beautiful South Shore of Lake Superior for 9 years and absolutely love it up here. When I am not on a sailboat you can find me at Rose's Pottery Studio in Washburn where I am also a ceramic artist or swimming at one of our lovely beaches. Hope to see you on the water soon!
Hyland
Hyland Garvey
Greeting and Salutations! My name is Hyland! I started sailing a couple years ago in highschool and with a turn of fortunate life events, started racing sailboats. Since then sailing has taken me all over the world; through the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic, the Caribbean and up and down the East coast of the U.S. While I’ve been lucky to get around, I still love the saltless Great Lake Superior and call her home. When I’m not sailing, I really like to get outside climbing rock or ice climbing, being out on the lake with my surfboard, or pushing turns on the snow. Cheers, can’t wait to see ya on the water!
Meet our Staff
Brontë
Brontë Gross
purchased Dreamcatcher Sailing in Spring 2023, and is now the owner and Charter Master of All Hands Sailing, which means he gets to keep the boats in working order, and then sail them until something breaks. Though a Minnesota native, he has been sailing in the Apostle Islands since he was a child and has been living up here full time for over a decade, starting by teaching kids to sail through North Coast Community sailing while attending Northland College. When not out on the water, he writes, sews backpacks, and dreams of blue water and fresh winds.
Sarah
Sarah Szymaniak
purchased Dreamcatcher Sailing in Spring 2023, and is now the owner and Administrative Master of All Hands Sailing, which means she gets to do all of the important work from behind the scenes. She has been sailing in the Apostle Islands for nearly a decade and has been living up here even longer. She has been on many sailing trips and expeditions, including sailing with 59° North from the Azores to Norway.
Her favorite place is behind the helm in a steady eight knots of breeze, the wind behind her and an empty horizon ahead.
Steven
Steven Boyd
has been sailing with All Hands since the very beginning, working to manage Dreamcatcher Sailing before the transfer. He grew up in the Chequamegon Region and settled back here after bouncing around the American West. Now he manages a household of five animals with his wife Nicole and in his free time can be found in every nook and cranny of our boats, fixing, improving, and making things better. He loves sailing and the big Lake and has designs of his own to get a captain's license and break through that fiberglass ceiling.
Zoë
Zoë
Joe
Joe
started cleaning boats under the tutelage of his mother, former manager of Dreamcatcher Sailing. Since then he's spent more hours than he can count crawling over, under, and inside of each of the vessels in the All Hands fleet. His skills have turned into hobbies and he now owns a few small boats of his own, including a Ghost 13, Deuces.
A true renaissance man, he makes everything from knives to costumes to bad boat buying decisions (not Deuces, though). You can find him honing his trades and his wit on and off the water.