San Diego · 35–90ft yachts · Power & Sail
You own the boat.
Now let's help you
handle it.
One-on-one training, maintenance support, and hands-on guidance — built around your boat, your goals, and your schedule. No courses. No classrooms. Just the right skills, on board.
What we are
A training and support club
for owners who want independence.
Most owners of 35 to 90 foot yachts get given two options. Hand the boat to a hired captain, or figure it out alone. Neither builds the thing you actually bought the boat for: the confidence to run it yourself.
First Mate Yacht Club is one-on-one yacht training and maintenance support, on board your own boat, in San Diego. Power and sail. You keep the helm. We build the skill until you stop second-guessing yourself every time you leave the dock.
How we do it
I'm here to help you avoid the mistakes that cost yacht owners
in operations, maintenance, and budget.
From the training log
Real sessions with real owners.
These are the situations owners like you run into every week, and exactly how we train through them. Real boats, real conditions, documented so you can see the method before I ever step aboard with you. Read the ones that sound like you.
Handling
Leaving the dock single-handed
Spring lines, prop walk, and a method that holds together when it is just you on the boat.
Handling
Twin-engine handling in wind
Retire the wheel, split the engines, and make twenty knots a training day instead of a stay-home day.
Seamanship
The weather call
Reading the forecast against your actual route and making your own go or no-go call, instead of hoping someone else makes it for you.
From the maintenance log
Boat problems, worked through.
The alarms, leaks, and odd noises that turn up on every boat. Each case shows what is actually happening, what you can sort yourself, and when it is time to bring in a specialist. Written so you understand your boat, not just fix one problem.
Engines & fuel
The overheat alarm after kelp
Kelp blocks the cooling water, the alarm sounds, the engine protects itself. What it means and the ten-minute fix.
Deck & hull
Finding a cabin leak
The water is never where it comes from. Salt or fresh, dry it out, then test one suspect at a time.
Free tool
The pre-departure checklist
The same 10-point check I run before any boat leaves the dock. Free, no sign-up, and it works on your phone at the helm.
Open the checklist →Fleet of Familiarity
Boats I've actually worked on.
Every boat here is one I've personally trained on, maintained, or delivered. This is what experience with your size and type of vessel actually looks like.
4 of 55+ vessels —
FIRST MATE
/ fəːst meɪt / · noun
A steady hand. A qualified second.
The person the captain relies on.
On a working vessel, the First Mate knows the systems, anticipates the problems, and keeps things calm when conditions change. They're the sounding board, the backup plan, and the person who's seen it before.
You are the captain of your boat. That never changes. The first mate exists in support of you. That's the whole idea behind First Mate Yacht Club.
Who's behind this
G'day, I'm Luke.
Fifteen plus years on commercial fishing boats, passenger ferries, and superyachts around the world, plus my own 1979 pilothouse sailboat here in San Diego. These days I'm on client boats most days of the week. The long version is on the about page if you want it.
About Luke →Common questions
What owners usually ask first
Ready to start
Tell me about your boat.
Send me the basics — boat type, size, where you're based, and what you're trying to get more comfortable with. I'll come back to you with a straight answer.
Or email directly: luke@firstmateyachtclub.com