Captain John Ensley

Capt. John Ensley, ASA Instructor / Sailing School Director

John’s first sailing experience was at age 11 sailing little sunfish sailboats at Big Lake Youth Camp in Central Oregon.

Years later, he completed his ASA Basic Keelboat course on the Columbia River and then Basic Coastal, Bareboat and Catamaran in Belize.

John then focused on getting out on the water as much as possible. He volunteered as delivery crew on multiple offshore deliveries and was part of a race crew in The Puget Sound for over 12 years.

He also cruised extensively on two of his own cruising sailboats as well as on friend’s boats and charter boats, sailing throughout the Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, British Columbia, The Sea of Cortez and Pacific Coast of Mexico, The British Virgin Islands, and The Bahamas. 

John holds a U.S. Coast Guard Master credential (Captain’s license) with over 1000 days logged at sea. He has been a professional sailing instructor since 2016, Go Baja’s sailing school director since 2018 and is a recipient of American Sailing’s prestigious, “outstanding instructor of the year” award.” 

John has helped hundreds of new sailors begin their own sailing and cruising journeys and is thrilled to help you on your sailing journey.