David Burch, PhD, Director of Starpath School of Navigation
David Burch is the director of the Starpath School of Navigation. Since 1977, his Seattle-based school has trained more than 26,000 students in the art of marine navigation.
How many miles have you sailed?
"I have more than 60,000 miles of ocean experience ranging from the Arctic ice edge to Tahiti and Australia in the Pacific and from New York to Panama in the Atlantic."
Tell us about your career as a competitive yachtsman.
"In 1984, I did the navigation and tactics for a 36-foot yacht that set the elapsed time record for vessels under 38 feet in the Victoria to Maui yacht race. The record held for 16 years. As navigator, I have won the Victoria to Maui race 3 times. I was navigator of Cassiopeia when she won the Swiftsure Lightship Classic and navigated the same vessel in the storm ridden 1993 Sydney to Hobart race."