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The Captains

Our Team

Several of the area’s finest captains help John and Mary a few days per week. Captains Kay Bakke and Jim Neumann of Duluth and Captains Jen Lanzer, John Mayers and Andrew Sauter Sargent of Bayfield are all highly experienced sailors.

Kay offers her skills as a lifetime boater and teacher. Jim is a retired journalist and lifetime boater with extensive single-handed wooden boat experience. John has been a sailing charter captain in the area for over 20 years, involved in bareboat charter certification training and advanced offshore skills training. Andrew grew up on a boat similar to Esprit and has sailed across the Indian Ocean.

They are all very easy to be around and have a nice way about them.  We are proud to have them as part of Dreamcatcher Sailing.

Joe Leino

Joe has been working for Dreamcatcher (and now All Hands Sailing) for two years now, cleaning boats and learning the ins and outs of both the bilge and the elements. He assisted in the delivery of Vahevala from Muskegon, Michigan, to Bayfield, a 600 mile journey in six days.

He owns his own small boat, which he rescued from a barn and fixed up himself. He nearly named it ‘Contender’, but grew tired explaining that it was always ‘fighting to stay afloat’, and went with Deuces instead.

By joining the apprentice program, he’s hoping to get more comfortable aboard large boats.

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!

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.

Hyland

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!

Maureen

Hello! I am 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.

Steven

Steven is the Manager and Trip Coordinator for Dreamcatcher Sailing. Born and raised in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a passion for the outdoors and a true excitement for sailing. His biggest curiosity firmly lies in the Sciences while he graduated from Northland College with a degree in Natural Resources and Ecological Restoration in 2021. Spending the bulk of his 20’s exploring the natural wonders of the country with his K9 companion hiking, skiing, and cycling. His love for community, outdoor education and the draw of Lake Superior has landed him back home. He strives to express the connectivity of the natural world and science to the outdoor recreators of his community. Steven is thrilled to be a part of the Dreamcatcher team and expand his passion for the outdoors, education, and new found excitement for sailing.

Siri Anderson

Siri Anderson’s love affair with sailing began in Bayfield as a fourth grader on her friend’s boat, the Blue Dolphin. Her love grew with experiences in the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Zanzibar, on the Charles River in Boston, in San Francisco Bay, and most recently crossing between Bermuda and the Azores. For the last decade she has nurtured a 23′ Sonar (SoGnar) housed in Grand Marais. Siri volunteers with the Youth Sailing Program on Lake Nokomis. During Minnesota’s much-too-long off-season, she serves the Great State of Minnesota as a professor at Bemidji State University. Siri notes she was given her name loooooong before cell phones were invented. She welcomes the chance to answer any questions you may have, but gives no guarantees on out-smarting the other Siri you may know.

Matt Edmunds

I have enjoyed sailing my entire life. I cut 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. Along with sailing I am a fisherman, kite surfer, mt biker or a log home builder. I look forward to being on the water with Dreamcatcher this season to share my passion for sailing and for Lake Superior and have some fun!

Brontë

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 nearly a decade, starting by teaching kids to sail through North Coast Community sailing and moving to being a captain after graduating from Northland College. With a background in education, his favorite part of working at All Hands is the opportunity to share a deep love of the Apostles and the joy of sailing. When not out on the water, he writes, sews backpacks, and dreams of blue water and fresh winds.

Beth Cozzi

Hi! I am captain Beth. I have a passion for sailing. I have sailed Lake Superior and the Great Lakes as well as the other Great Lakes, the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean and the Adriatic Sea. I hope that my love for sailing will be your love too.