Stewart Craig – Optimist Instructor, Mercury Race Coach

Stewart is a senior at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. At Wheaton, he studies biology focusing on field work in ecosystems and environmental studies. He also is the President of the Outdoors Education House and the Captain of the Sailing Team. For the past four years, Stewart has been working summers at Essex Bay Sailing Club in Essex, MA as an instructor and race coach in 420s and Escape Captivas. Before that, he spent summers learning to sail at Hull Yacht Club in Hull, MA and actively competing in regattas throughout Mass Bay. Nowadays, he most often sails his Laser Radial in Newburyport, MA in a summer series, competes in International 110 Regattas on weekends, and occasionally does frostbite sailing and iceboating in the winters. His other interests include skiing, Frisbee, bike rides, and hiking.

Liana Folger - Assistant Sailing Instructor

Liana is an avid sailor who has lived on MDI her whole life. She first started sailing at the Northeast Harbor Sailing School in 2000 in the Optimist class and has since then been active with the MDI High School Sailing Team as well as both the IOD and Luder16 fleets. With a great passion for the incredible sport, Liana loves to teach whatever she can with the hopes of learning something herself.

Solomon Krevans – Assistant Sailing Instructor

Solomon was born in Bethel, Alaska and grew up spending most summers sailing on Mt. Desert Island. He moved to the island his freshmen year of high school and has sailed on the high school team since. Besides racing 420's for the high school and the Fleet, Solomon has also raced on Gaylark for the past two years and IOD's whenever he's had the chance.

Nat Paine – Mercury Instructor, Assistant 420 Race Coach

Nat is currently a Junior at the University of Vermont, studying English and Studio Art. He graduated from Mount Desert Island High School, where he started sailing competitively. He has also sailed for one season as a UVM Catamount. His father Art Paine builds boats, is a marine artist, writes magazine articles and is writing a book. About boats. His uncle, Chuck Paine, is a recently retired boat designer. His family is sort of into boats. He has been teaching sailing at the NEHSS since halfway through the summer of 2006, when he came over from the Bar Harbor Yacht Club. When he isn't teaching Mercurys to the young sailors or working IOD race committee, he's either cooking sausages on the Fleet grill or working hard to refurbish the Mercuries.