Our Instructors
Shawn O’Connor - Wildcat HS Head Coach
Shawn O'Connor learned to sail when he was eleven, at an Oak Harbor Youth Sailing camp! Shawn was a founding member of Wildcat Sailing, racing on the inaugural team in 2014. Shawn has worked on our summer staff for over a decade, taking over as the head coach of Wildcat Sailing in 2020. Shawn has extensive racing experience, from dinghy racing in high school to racing keelboats all around the Puget Sound.
Anna Morrow - Level III Lead Instructor
With 7 years total of sailing instructor experience, Anna has been working at OHYS for the past 3 summers.
Anna is currently a student at Western Washington University studying Recreation Management and Leadership and Environmental Science and hopes to graduate in 2024. Anna has completed her US Sailing Level 1, 2, and 3 certifications, meaning she is certified to teach both learn-to-sail classes and higher level sailboat racing. She has experience in many aspects of sailing, including sailing on her college dinghy sailing team as well as district and national level college sailing leadership. She is currently the undergraduate president of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference as well as the CO-Captain of WWU’s sailing team. In addition to summer instructing programs and dinghy racing, she is an avid keelboat racer with experience in many types of boats. Her favorite sailing experience is Round Whidbey 2021 in which she sailed on the San Juan 24 Juan Solo and they got 2nd place!
Ben Servatius - Level II Instructor
Hi, I’m Ben Servatius and I’m one of the Sailing Instructors for Oak Harbor Youth Sailing. I began sailing when I was eight years old and made my way through each of the summer learn-to-sail camps offered by OHYS. After that, I decided to join the Wildcat Race Team in high school and become a junior instructor during the summers. I took the US Sailing Level 1 and 2 instructor courses and since 2020 I have been teaching the sailing camps full-time during the summers. I also managed the Adult Learn to Sail camps that we offered starting last summer which were a great opportunity for adults to get into a sport that can seem daunting at first. Right now I am attending Central Washington University and pursuing a degree in aviation during the school year as well as making time for many other activities like skiing, biking, sailing, rock climbing, and golf. The learn to sail camps are a great summer activity and learning experience and I hope to see you there!