The 2025 Windjammer Days will shine a spotlight on the dedicated individuals who have served, are serving, or are preparing to serve in one of the most respected branches of the U.S. military: the Coast Guard. From active-duty members and retired veterans to the bright future leaders currently enrolled at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, we’ll explore their personal stories, their contributions to the community, and the impact they've made on the nation's maritime security. The 63rd annual Boothbay Harbor Windjammer Days will take place on Sunday, June 22 through Saturday, June 28. Please visit boothbayharborwindjammerdays.org for the full schedule of events.

I enlisted in the Coast Guard in 2016 where I attended Basic Training at Cape May, New Jersey; CG Station Provincetown, Massachusetts; CG Station Burlington, Vermont; and now currently at CG Station Boothbay Harbor.

My primary responsibilities are operating the units 47-foot Motor Life Boat and 29-foot Response Boat small as a coxswain in which I have certified as a Heavy Weather Coxswain that can operate the 47 in 50 knot winds of wind and 20-foot seas.

I grew up in a military household. My father is a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant from the U.S. Marine Corp with 30 years of service. That is where I learned about what the different branches had to offer. Joining the military would mean I would see new places, and since I grew up surfing, I knew the Coast Guard was going to keep me by the water.

The Coast Guard is extremely unique in that at the age of 21 I was able to achieve the qualification of Coxswain on the 45-foot Response Boat Medium, meaning I would be responsible operating the boat during search and rescue operations.

One of my most memorable operations was when I was at CG Station Burlington and we received a call about a kayaker that was two nautical miles from shore and had started to take water over the bow. On the kayak was a 5-year-old girl and her father. The water temperature was 45 degrees and the seas were two feet. I, along with a boat crew, was able to quickly locate them before the kayak was about to sink. They were treated for hypothermia and safely taken to EMS.