Leslie Washburn, raised sailing the Great Lakes, is a USCG licensed captain with a 50GTS MMC. She has accrued over 20,000 bluewater miles through cruising, chartering, and deliveries, crossing both the Atlantic from west to east and the Pacific. As a competitive sailor, she has achieved podium finishes in both buoy and distance races, including the overall Chicago NOOD Championship, Verve Cup, Mackinac Cup, and N2E. With participation in over 27 Chicago to Mac regattas, she has also secured her membership in the Old Goat Society.

Her resume, however, doesn’t capture her experiences of navigating Force 10 conditions in the Atlantic with an injured crew or surviving a wreck on a South Pacific reef. With her extensive ocean experiences, Leslie is set to share tales, discuss preparations for unforeseen events and offer insights.