Flag Officers and Chairs

Mary is a San Francisco native who learned to love sailing while growing up in Melbourne, Australia, where she learned to sail on small boats. Back in the US, Mary continued to sail and started racing on Thistles, always as crew and never as skipper! When she started sailing regularly on the Bay it was clear that formal training seemed like a good idea, which eventually lead to her co-owning an Islander Freeport. Mary has been involved with the SYC Race Committee for many years and served as its chair in 2018. She continues to occasionally crew for races, both in San Francisco and when back in Melbourne, and tries to get out on her own (non-racing) boat as much as possible.

Tammy has been boating since her dad bought a 24' Skipjack when she was sixteen. She grew up in Santa Cruz where she spent a lot of time in and on the ocean, diving, surfing and sailing. Tammy has been a member of the Sausalito Yacht club since 2005. She and her husband Ross have six children four grandchildren, they live in Sausalito on their motor yacht, Nomata.

Todd grew up boating on lakes in Iowa but truly fell in love with powerboat cruising during a 2012 bareboat charter in the San Juan Islands. In 2013, Todd and his wife Cyndi purchased their Cruisers Yachts 41 Cantius, Osa. Todd & Cyndi joined SYC in 2013 primarily for the Cruising program and the opportunity it provided to meet and get to know fellow boaters and club members. After attending seemingly every SYC cruise from 2014-2016, Todd served on the SYC FOC as Cruise Chair in 2017 and 2018. There he organized cruises to SYC favorites including Angel Island, Petaluma, and Berkeley (among many others) and learned a great deal about the club and its operations.

Tom Kowalski is a Buffalo, New York Native. With 4 decades of practice in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, his work has been peer-reviewed published in numerous International Journals on Hand Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Microsurgery. Outside of his professional efforts, he has sailed and owned many boats on San Francisco Bay along with the Caribbean. Currently, he resides Part Time on a 44 Defever in Sausalito and on land in Mill Valley, California Condo. He is an avid rower / Sculler on San Francisco Bay. Tom is resposible for the SYC Wednesday Night Speaker series.

Karen has resided in Sausalito since 2010 after having moved to the Bay Area from Florida to open and manage the Western Division of her marine insurance company. She has been an active member of the SYC since joining and enjoys volunteering as the Ship’s Store Captain and Buyer. Karen’s love of sailing in the Bahamas and Florida led her to take the plunge in the Bay waters co-owning a 36’ Islander Freeport. Traveling extensively, Karen visits the Yacht Clubs around the country exchanging burgees and extending SYC’s Friendliest Club on the Bay welcome to all.

John has been a CPA since 1972 having started his career with Price Waterhouse & Co. He moved to Sausalito in 1972 and raced a Ranger 26 for many years. He has been a member of the SYC for almost 40 years. With experience in public and private accounting, he started his CPA practice in 1981 in San Francisco. In 2015 he relocated his office to Sausalito. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of CPAs. John and his wife Diana reside in Sausalito.

Russell was born in Brooklyn, NY, grew up on Long Island, and received a Chemical Engineering degree from Rensselaer. Move to Sausalito in 1981. Previously owned a Ericson, and was an avid sailor. He founded a logistics company, specializing in imports of apparel and footwear, with affiliate offices thought the world. Member of Mayacama Golf Club in Healdsburg. He has been a member at SYC for 12 years.

Al was born and raised in San Francisco (Lincoln HS). Growing up in the City he crewed on an variety of sailboats. Cal 20 , Cal 25, Bear, Folk Boat, Spaulding 33. Professional seafaring life in the US Merchant Marine. Sailed as a Deck Officer aboard American flagged ships homeported in San Francisco. Studied as a deck cadet at Texas A M Maritime Academy (Sea Aggie). After years at sea elected to serve with the International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots ( Vice President Pacific Ports ). Leaving the Maritime industry appointed to the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. Retired 2016 as Executive Director. Joined the SYC in 2011. Currently serving on the Sausalito Youth Sailing Foundation Board. Owner of a Islander Bahama 30 sailboat berthed at Sausalito Clipper YH. Al and his wife Terry (a native San Franciscan Mercy HS) spend leisurely time with children and grandchildren as well as regular travelers and vacationers aboard mid size cruise ships

Dan is from the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio, where he grew to love the waters of Lake Erie. Following a career in the field of developmental disabilities as a Manager of Project Management for the State of Ohio charged with overseeing the construction of group homes throughout the state, Dan followed his dream of relocating to the Bay Area in 1983. Dan’s second career was focused on being a Senior Project Manager as well as consultant in the field of working with utilities across the U.S. and Canada in terms of implementing customer-focused energy efficiency programs. Dan also was an in-demand speaker in this field at national conferences held on an annual basis. Following 40 years of project management efforts, Dan retired in 2016, and lives in San Rafael with his wife Pam.

Marisa McArthur is a native San Franciscan who loves spending time on the water with her family. Marisa has lived in Boston, MA, and most recently in Washington, DC, until 2016 when she and her family relocated to Tiburon to be closer to family. She has more than 20 years of progressive management experience in organizational operations and business management having worked in the hospitality industry, the American Red Cross, and the American Petroleum Industry. Marisa, her husband, and two young children have been members of the SYC since 2018.

Russell Ost is a Lodi California native, who lives in the greater Sacramento area. With over three decades of experience in the technology industry, he has been involved with a wide variety of data center and security projects. Russell has been sailing on the San Francisco Bay for 10 years, including the last 4 years on his Islander sailboat. Personal interests include international travel and photography.

Alexandra grew up in Tiburon, California. Her family was active members of the San Francisco Yacht club, where she and her brother participated in the Junior Sailing Program. She also spent a great deal of her time caring for and riding her horse through the Tiburon hills and skiing and vacationing with her family in Lake Tahoe. When in high school, Alexandra moved with her family to Switzerland and attended an international boarding school in Lausanne, Switzerland. Subsequently, she lived and attended college in Paris. After college, she returned to Marin, married, and raised two daughters. Alexandra owns and operates a Personal Assistant and Home Management Business serving Marin and San Francisco. She joined the Sausalito Yacht Club in 2005 and became an active part of the SYC Entertainment Committee in 2014, where she works with the team help create enjoyable events all year.

Jon has spent his entire life sailing San Francisco Bay and beyond to include racing, cruising, and yacht deliveries. He learned from his parents, avid sailors, who introduced him to junior sailing. After spending a good portion of his early days racing, he graduated to coastal sailing and cruising and learned the many wonderful ports of call by “gunkholing” all around the bay and beyond. After a long career in public safety, Jon and his wife Karen, and I went to the “dark side” and purchased a Grand Banks trawler that is berthed in Emery Cove Marina. They live in Auburn, CA., and use their vessel, “Léonor” often, especially enjoying the SYC buoys for the night. As a Cruise Chair, Jon is looking forward to building upon the SYC’s already great cruise schedule and partnering with the accomplished cruise captains. Jon believes there is no better way to explore the bay and beyond with fellow mariners that want to explore the most incredible bay in the world.

I have been a member of SYC since early 2011, after moving to Sausalito from Santa Cruz where I lived for 34 years and was a member of the Santa Cruz Yacht Club. Prior to retiring and moving to Sausalito, I was a general contractor building and remodeling homes, as well as light commercial projects, in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties. We moved to Sausalito to be closer to my son’s children (who then lived in Sausalito), and we fell in love with the town and SYC. I have been House Chair in 2016, 2018 and 2019, as well as resuming the post around mid-April 2020 following the resignation of the then-current House chair. I appreciate the opportunity to serve the club as we move forward to a major renovation of the facility following the City of Sausalito’s extension of our lease.

Mary Sherman & her husband Stan have been members of SYC since 2005. They currently live in Greenbrae. Mary learned to sail on the San Francisco Bay at Cass’s Marina in Sausalito and continued to sail for over 30 years. She has been a member of the Auxiliary for the past 10 years, 5 of those as President. After practicing radiologic technology for 48 years, Mary has officially retired from UCSF and is enjoying the leisure time to travel, visit family, volunteer at the Marin Health hospital, and participate in the activities of the yacht club.