THE CREW

Come enjoy the friendship of the Crew and Owners of the Ursa Major and experience Alaska or Baja with a crew not dressed in servant whites but aboard your own customized cruise .    Make these the new friends you find in Alaska and in the Sea of Cortez part of the enjoyment of these incredible areas.   Come off the beaten path to see and experience these cruising grounds aboard a well founded true trawler yacht to live your dream trip or do your first trip with us in these remarkable waters and perhaps begin to plan for your own boat and  future cruising dreams.     We offer the best of both options not exclusive to either experience.   .   

Captain JoshUA Haury :  Josh has worked with the Ursa Major since 2000 and performed every possible duty aboard Ursa and similar  boats including of steward, chef,  kayak master, engineer/mechanic, tour guide and trainer for trawler purchasers........all with his indomitable smile and enthusiasm.  Josh has earned his wings in over nine years at sea including two years apprenticeship as First Mate/Captain in training aboard the Ursa in all points between Alaska and Mexico.   Captain Josh has his Coast Guard 200 Ton License, 500 Ton International License and STCW certification for international waters and safety at sea.   Captain Josh is guiding our guests in both Alaska and Baja and sharing with them these marvelous cruising grounds with his infectious laugh.   Josh's hand on the camera, the helm, or the shrimp and crab pot line is equally as talented.   Almost nothing delights our guests more than "smoozin' with Josh" in the wheelhouse, on the aft deck or sun deck, at dinner or checking out the local harbors where he is known and loved.   Josh has his eye on some premium dive sites in the Sea of Cortez in Baja Mexico for his time off and is working on his cold water diving in Alaska this year with local dive masters.   He laughing relates that command of a crew of females on a boat owned by women owners may seem like  walking straight into "suspected and controlled mutiny around every corner".    It is a testament to his easy going personality and exceptional skills and unquestionable rational commands that our guests frequently comment on how enjoyable a cruise with Josh as captain is as there is never any tension.   Captain Josh achieves smooth competency in his crew and flexibility in our plans to make your customized trip everything you could dream of experiencing.   

First Mate/Kayak Master/Naturalist Emily Waschak:   Emily begins her second year aboard the Ursa Major in Baja and Alaska after completing her Masters in Marine Biology at the renown Oregon State Univeristy program.   She has years of experience as an fisheries observer in the Gulf of Alaska, researching aboard boats for NOAA in the Bering Sea, and teaching aquaculture in Africa.    Guests marvel  at the expanse of her experience and knowledge of all things maritime, fishing, and wildlife.      Not bad for a kid from OHIO originally!  Come enjoy the stories she can tell you of whales, of rockfish, of politely monitoring commercial fishermen on factory trawlers.    Her shock of beautiful curly red hair always helps our guests know where the kayak master is headed and the joke is that all she needs to do is stand on the bow and you can tell both wind direction and humidity!     Ask her about pregnant rockfish and you are talking to someone at the cutting edge of marine biology.   

CHef and relief captain geri cooper:  Captain  Geri Cooper (also a 100T US Coast Guard Certified Master) is completing her first season in Alaska in 2008  after two seasons of working with the Ursa Major on the Sea of Cortez cruises in Baja.    She offers you the finest in cuisine that Alaska and Baja can offer.   See your own catch transformed into delicacies worthy of any fine restaurant.   The Fresh Catch of the Day offering at your local seafood restaurant was never this great!   

When not aboard the Ursa Major in Alaska or Baja, she is working and repairing her own boat in San Diego while doing ad hoc catering, or riding her Harley Davidson cross country to visit friends and family.       She is amazing in finding ways to wear flip flops and shorts even in ALASKA reflecting her enthusiasm for all things maritime, upbeat personality and never-say-never approach to giving our guests a wonderful trip.     Geri decided to pursue a life at sea after a career in military intelligence and catering, perhaps an unlikely combination!   She is known always to jump into life with both feet to new adventures as exemplified by buying her own 40 foot motor yacht and learning all that it takes to run and maintain.      Enjoy the menus and experience of fine cuisine from fresh caught fish, shrimp crab mixed with an impish and inventive chef's mind.    Just tell her your likes and dislikes and your customized yacht cruise and culinary adventure begins. 

    Owner V. Joyce GAuthier:   Although rarely allowing herself to be aboard the Ursa Major during charter season due to overworking as a physician in rheumatology and emergency medicine to support this majestic trawler yacht V. Joyce Gauthier owns,  loves, and  manages the charter bookings.    She dreams of those days when work won't interfer with cruising or working on the maintenance of the Ursa.    When you contact Ursa Major Charters you will reach her by phone or email.    Through articles and talks, Dr. Gauthier has helped make Ursa Major, the 65 foot Malahide Tralwer Yacht, perhaps the best known classic trawler yacht charterable for your enjoyment.     Becoming somewhat of a legend herself in the process as the "that crazy lady doctor who owns the Ursa Major" Joyce is committed to preserving and sharing this amazing vessel with others.    With the growing role of women owners of boats, Joyce has been a treadsetter.     Joyce came to own this boat somewhat inadvertently and has learned many maritime skills over the last 13 year to preserve this vessel (see article links on our home webpage for links to publsihed stories).   She has taken on the responsibility of  sharing the intricate history of this vessel and the other Malahide and Romsdal trawler yachts that are Ursa's  sisterships with the boating community via articles, websites (www.classictrawlers.net), and talks.     Joyce spends considerable amounts of what little free time she has locating and interviewing prior owners and their families, unearthing the history of the Ursa's time with the Mafia and in the America's Cup, and managing the bookings and maintenance of the Ursa.   She has an incredible comittment to sharing the stories with our guests all the while positioning of this unique vessel in two of the finest cruising grounds in the world (Southeast Alaska and the Sea of Cortez in Baja Mexico) in order to allow you to live your cruising dreams aboard this unique and comfortable vessel.   You can reach Joyce at info@myursamajor.com or directly at VJGauthier@aol.com, 206-310-2309 to plan a trip, share a story, make a suggestion.     Joyce is assisted in this activity by her sister Cami Gauthier Cash, who lived and worked aboard the Ursa Major full time form 1995 to 2005 and now provides shore based logistic support for Captain Josh and for Joyce in running the day to day procurement of materials, mailings, boatsits for Captain Josh's vacations, and assists in repair of varnish and details aboard the boat during turn around times between charter seasons.    She still holds the record for being in more compartments and spaces aboard the boat that any other known person having fixed and repaired generally closed areas including the inwall freezer.