Program Director

Our Program Director oversees the daily sailing programs and manages the instructors. Our Senior Instructors typically have had prior coaching experience, some collegiate sailing experience, and have Level I US Sailing Certification or higher. In addition to our senior instructors, the program also has a number of Junior Instructors who assist Senior Instructors and fill in where applicable.

Doug Nebel  This is my tenth year as Director of MSA. Originally from New Jersey, I grew up sailing Duckboats (basically a twelve-foot Sneakbox) and Lasers on the ultracompetitive Barnegat Bay. I graduated from the University of Vermont in 1991 with an Economics degree. After many years of sales and marketing, I went back to school at Lesley University to earn my Masters in education and, most recently, my Principal Certification. Working as a teacher opened up the summers and, after directing the Bay Head Yacht Club's sailing program in 2000 and 2001, I landed at MSA in the summer of 2002. I am currently an Assistant Principal at the Joyce Middle School in Woburn. MSA has been a great place to work and sail, 10-foot tides notwithstanding, and I feel that we are off to our best season yet.

2011 Senior Instructors 

Kevin Dooley (Head Coach) joins the Manchester Sailing Association as Head Coach for the 2011 season. Originally from the North Shore, Kevin first sailed Widgeon's out of the Jubilee YC before racing 420's at Pleon and team racing with St. John's Prep. He later sailed for Eckerd College and earned All-District honors while his team consistently ranked within the ICSA's top twenty. An accomplished junior coach, many of Kevin's former high school students have sailed for collegiate teams where more than a handful earned All-American recognition. Kevin is currently Head Coach of the Manchester Essex High School Sailing Team and brings over a decade of race team leadership to MSA.

Chris Pine (Opti Championship Coach) grew up in the MSA program and is thrilled to be back in the capacity of Head Opti Coach.  While at the MSA, Chris won Marblehead Junior Race Week and was part of the MSA Team that won the North East Regional Team Race Championships.  With fellow MSA alum Caleb Silsby, Chris co-founded the Manchester High School Sailing Team, winning the Massachusetts High School State Championships as A and B fleet skippers their senior year.  He has coached a variety of Opti teams in Massachusetts, the BVI, Florida, and California, consistently qualifying sailors for the USODA Team Trials and the US Opti National Team.  Chris lives in San Francisco where he races V15s and trims on a J24. He is a graduate student in Education at UC Berkeley.

Kristy Landsvik (Opti Green Coach/Bo'sun Instructor) I am excited to return to MSA as the Bo'sun instructor and Opti Green Race Coach. It will be my third year working with the Opti Green kids and my fourth summer as a senior instructor. I am currently a junior at the University of Vermont with a major in business administration. I have a double concentration in marketing and management and the environment. I am a member of the UVM sailing team where we have a fleet of 18 FJ's and often sail 420's and Larks while traveling to other college teams. This past year we have had a variety of coaches including Skip Whyte who is an Olympic coach. I grew up through the MSA program and was part of the Manchester-Essex sailing team including being a captain my senior year. I have my US Sailing Level I and II certifications and I can't wait for this upcoming summer. 

Shannon Walker (Skippers/Bo'sun 2) I am looking forward to my third summer as a senior instructor at MSA! For my whole life I have been around sailboats, including my family's Rhodes 19 and Columbia Saber. I learned to sail in the MSA program, from Mates to Race Team. Of the eight summers I was on the race team, four were in Optis and four in 420s. I was also a junior instructor for three years before becoming a senior instructor. I graduated from Beverly High School in 2009 and am now a rising sophomore at Dickinson College where I study political science and environmental studies. I am excited for another eventful summer with Skippers and Bo'sun 2.

Monica Adler (Ensigns/Mariners) I am very excited to return for a second summer as a senior instructor at MSA. Last summer I had a great experience instructing the Ensign class in the morning and the Sea Urchin class in the afternoon. I grew up sailing at MSA, starting as a Mate and working my way up to the 420 race team. I competed on the Manchester-Essex High School race team and the MSA 420 race team for three years each. I love being on the water- my family owns a 32-foot cruising boat that I have sailed on every summer growing up. Other activities that I enjoy include swimming, running, and lifeguarding. Above all, I love to sail and look forward to sharing it with my classes this summer! I am a rising sophomore at Dartmouth College.

Michaela Rosmarin (Mates/Adults/Sea Urchins) This is my second summer as a senior instructor at MSA teaching the Mates, Sea Urchins and Adults! Although this is only my second year as a senior instructor at MSA, I have been sailing with the program since I was 13 years old. My love for sailing has brought me to compete on the 420 Race Team for two years as well as become a junior instructor for two years prior to becoming a senior. In the fall of 2011 I will be a junior at Furman University, a landlocked college in South Carolina. Although I have to wait until the summer to sail, I am ecstatic for another sunny summer at MSA!

Erin Snyder (Mates/Adults/Sea Urchins) I can't wait to start my first summer as a Senior Instructor at MSA! I am a rising sophomore at Providence College, where I am currently on the club sailing team. I have enjoyed going to regattas around New England and seeing many familiar faces from past youth sailing experiences. I started sailing as an Ensign at MSA and progressed through the program. I spent four years on the 420 race team and six years on the Manchester Essex High School sailing team, where I was the captain for my junior and senior year. I love to sail and can't wait to share that love with my classes. I am looking forward to another great summer at MSA!

2011 Junior Instructors

Connor Winn
Nate Jermain
Sam Cushing
Walter Hunnewell
Alyssa Fabyan
Kyle Davis
Jacob Martz
Rob Brown