About Captain Corey
Born near the Pacific Ocean in Ventura, CA, Captain Corey has always been drawn to the saltwater. Even after being hauled off to the midwest, as a child your Captain was always looking for adventure on the water, whether kayaking the Rock River (Beloit, WI) or rowing his grandfather’s fishing boat across Willow Lake (Tripoli, WI) & back.
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After moving to Olympia, WA at the age of 16, Captain Corey finished high school there, leaving for the US Navy only 11 days after graduating. He spent the better part of 5 years in places such as Adak, AK; Guam; Rota, Spain; and then to Ventura, CA… right back where he was born!
HAPPY SaiLS
After departing the Navy, Captain Corey moved back to Olympia. Having discovered the beauty of Puget Sound while kayaking, he knew that this is where he wanted to be. Sharing these beauties with others was what he wanted to do. The dream started off in his head as a kayak tour business, but then he bought his first sailboat, a dilapidated 22’ 1977 Chrysler Sailboat.
Long story short, Captain Corey swiftly sunk the boat on one of his first adventures aboard her, due to the poor shape of the vessel. After salvaging the boat from the salty depths (actually only about 10’ of water), it was hauled off to his grandparents’ home, where it spent the next year under cover while Captain Corey restored her completely. After finishing the restoration, and properly christening her “S/V The Tigon”, Captain Corey & Admiral Reth sailed The Tigon from Boston Harbor Marina (Olympia) to Orcas Island, WA for their 10th Anniversary.
Island Life
In 2015, the family moved from Lacey, WA to Anderson Island, WA. Accessible by boat only, Anderson Island is the perfect fit for Captain Corey & his family. For the first year of “island life”, they would use The Tigon to commute to work on the mainland & back. In 2016, it was time for a larger vessel, to better accommodate the family and the adventures to be had. S/V Solution, a 30’ Newport sailboat, built in 1979, would turn out to be that perfect vessel. In 2018, Captain Corey, Admiral Reth, their daughter Zana, and their pup Nutty sailed back to Orcas Island, and as far as Sucia Island, WA. It was Corey & Reth’s 14th Anniversary.
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Wanting to make a reality of his dreams, in November 2019, Corey enrolled at Flagship Maritime Institute to obtain his Captains License (OUPV). In February of 2020, Corey graduated, as Captain Corey, near the top of his class. 3 months later, South Sound Sailing Tours was founded, and has been operating sailing tours in the South Puget Sound ever since.
Captain Corey & Admiral Reth
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