About Us
Why is it called Wind Goddess Retreats?
Years ago, while resting after a team building charter in the Virgin Islands, my fellow female captain friends and I were reflecting on the wonderful week of a job well done. Working with the Garmin Cycling Team (Tour de France level), we accomplished our goals and theirs: Enabling them to bond tightly as a group, and learn about themsel
Years ago, while resting after a team building charter in the Virgin Islands, my fellow female captain friends and I were reflecting on the wonderful week of a job well done. Working with the Garmin Cycling Team (Tour de France level), we accomplished our goals and theirs: Enabling them to bond tightly as a group, and learn about themselves in the process. Suzette called us Goddesses. When I relayed the story to my husband Eric, he named me his wind goddess. With this in mind, I have been empowering other women to embrace their inner Goddess.
Name your passion, and claim it for yourself.
What kind of Goddess are you?
SAILING HISTORY
Growing up in Miami near the water, and moving to San Diego at 23 yo, sailing was a very influential part of life. My father loved sailing, so as kids we were given little boats to plat on. By age 9 I learned basic skills and independence, and as the years passed, the boats I sailed on got bigger and faster. By age 15 I was hooked on a Ho
Growing up in Miami near the water, and moving to San Diego at 23 yo, sailing was a very influential part of life. My father loved sailing, so as kids we were given little boats to plat on. By age 9 I learned basic skills and independence, and as the years passed, the boats I sailed on got bigger and faster. By age 15 I was hooked on a Hobie 16, the largest class of multihulls in the world. Family vacations were spent sailing to the Bahamas in the summers, and the cruising lifestyle was embedded in my soul. At 16 I discovered racing was exciting and started crewing, then driving my dad's 36' sailboat in Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys.
In 1981, for a college graduation present, my parents let me take their 37' racing yacht to compete in what was equivilant to the offshore world championships, the SORC. In 1982 my team competed with a bigger, faster ,sponsored yacht, and both years my team was filled with young strong smart and capable women. It was a first in sailing history and we cracked open that ceiling. In the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, a silver medal was placed around my neck at the Windsurfing Exhibition. Since then I've won over 22 national titles and 5 world championships on sailboards and Hobie 16's (still the largest one design catamaran class), and in 2019 won the Hobie 16 World Championships for the 3rd time. In 1995 I was chosen to be on the America3 Women's Team to compete for the America's Cup. Over the years I've run numerous sailing clinics for women and men from offshore racing to windsurfers. I've had a 100 ton USCG Merchant Marine License for almost 30 years, and am now ASA certified to captain in the Mediterranean. When not racing or raising kids, I worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver for 20 years as a captain teaching and facilitating MBA students on team building using sailboats in San Diego and the Virgin Islands. In addition, I was a commentator for major sailing events including the Americas Cup, and won an Emmy as with others in the 2013 AC held in San Francisco. From 2015-2020 my husband Eric and I cruised on our 47' Catamaran named El Gato doing teaching charters along the way. We started in France, hit over 40 countries, and sailed over 40,000 miles, winding up in San Diego when the pandemic forced us to abandon our South Pacific dreams.
Making lemonade out of lemons, we are enjoying our time back home and have been cruising Mexico and Southern California. In 2021 I started Wind Goddess Retreats. It's been a wonderful opportunity for me to share my passion for the sea, meet and introduce women to nice big catamarans while helping them form new friendships, and I can't believe how fortunate I am to be able to share this amazing world of cruising to women who are adventurous and happy to explore the world by boat.
My sailing experience is an important aspect of this retreat.
You are in good hands, and having a captain you can trust and are comfortable with will make your trip relaxing as well as fun.
MORE THAN ONE YACHT, OR SAILING IN THE MED
In the Mediterranean my husband Eric joins me as my first mate.
He is a certified ASA instructor as well as holding a US Coast Guard Merchant Marine License for 50 tons yachts. We've sailed half way around the world together and there is no one I trust more to be on a boat with. If we have a boat
MORE THAN ONE YACHT, OR SAILING IN THE MED
In the Mediterranean my husband Eric joins me as my first mate.
He is a certified ASA instructor as well as holding a US Coast Guard Merchant Marine License for 50 tons yachts. We've sailed half way around the world together and there is no one I trust more to be on a boat with. If we have a boat with couples he will most likely be onboard to work with me and share responsibilities.
FLOTILLAS FOR WOMEN
When we have a flotilla I bring in top notch female captains who also have captains licenses and have been around yachts and teaching for many years. Always know you are in good hands with us no matter who is on board as your captain.