Vaughan Johansen

Photo of Vaughan Johansen
Vancouver, British Columbia Canada

Level V Captain Rank Chief Sailing Instructor / Assessor

Rated 4.87/5 by 60 students
A USCG Captain and certified sailing instructor, Vaughan Johansen has taught sailing from the Florida Keys to the Canadian Arctic. An adult educator with 20 years standing, Vaughan's approach to sailboat instruction is to help students harness their strengths, push their boundaries, and guide them through the challenges of sailboat operation and sailboat cruising. Vaughan holds certifications from the United States Coast Guard, NauticEd, the American Sailing Association, Sail Canada and Transport Canada. He has been teaching sailing and cruising in the Pacific Northwest since 2010. He sails a C&C 36.

Credentials

NauticEd Credentials

  • Level V Captain Rank Chief Instructor/Assessor
  • American National Standards Instructor/Assessor
  • Canadian National Standards Instructor/Assessor
  • SLC Instructor/Assessor
  • ICC Preparatory Instructor

Other Credentials

USCG Captain (OUPV Near Coastal) ASA Certified Instructor Sail Canada Certified Instructor Transport Canada Certified Small Vessel Operator

Associated practical schools

Publications

Read the Expert Article Vaughan Johansen has written

Training and assessment

International License Training/Assessment

Notes: Sailboat skipper and yacht charter training is done on a C&C 36.

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Feedback from previous students

Hugh F., Canada, BC, Pemberton at 2024, Apr 22
Practical Competence of Skipper Rank
Very experienced, professional instructor with emphasis on safety. I learned a lot, notably, vessel under power, docking, MOB, , communication with crew, anchoring.
Richard and H., Canada, BC, Vancouver at 2024, Apr 23
Practical Competence of Skipper Rank
Vaughan was patient and approachable. He introduced new things to notice and adjust incrementally and at a pace that could be absorbed and incorporated into my learning.
Joern M., Canada, Ladysmith at 2024, Mar 11
Practical Competence of Bareboat Charter Master Rank
Vaughan truly went above and beyond. I booked training before the examination and he was great at explaining, showing, having me learn by doing. My wife came along as crew and Vaughan talked her through backing the boat back into the slip in a very calm, clear and instructive way. She aced it. I am still a bit miffed that she was clearly able to do it following his instructions, whereas the outcome of my attempts to show her always bordered on divorce and could only be remedied with gifts of wine and back massages. Vaughan was a great teacher, put a lot of extra time in, and helped me keep it together when I f ailed my first SLC exam… Would very highly recommend him.
Mike A., Canada, BC, Courtenay at 2024, Feb 23
Practical Competence of Bareboat Charter Master Rank
Pearce M., Canada, BC, Vancouver at 2023, Aug 30
Practical Competence of Skipper (small keelboat) Rank
David E., Canada, BC, North Saanich at 2023, Sep 23
Practical Competence of Skipper Rank
Vaughan was an amazing instructor -exceptionally patient with difficult student like me. His boat is an older one, but reasonably maintained. Having everything manual and his discussions about the challenges of maintaining an older boat were very useful in our training. I would not hesitate to recommend Vaughan Johansen to someone wanting to learn to sail or improve their sailing skills. Thanks Vaughan!
Vincent C., Canada, BC, Vancouver at 2023, Sep 04
Practical Competence of Skipper Rank
Very knowledgable and patient instructor.
Kent R., Canada, BC, Vancouver at 2023, Aug 07
Practical Competence of Skipper Rank
Learning to sail with Vaughan was awesome! I went from having never sailed to confidently able to skipper a sailboat in 4 days on the water with him, and I had a blast to boot! Super patient and knowledgeable I would recommend him as a teacher to anyone looking to learn how to sail! He's a solid dude!
Hooman S., Canada, BC, Vancouver at 2023, Sep 18
Practical Competence of Skipper Rank
Vaughan was very enthusiastic , professional and eager to teach and instruct me during the course. I have already recommended him to few of my colleagues.
Sanaz G., Canada, BC, V7T1T8 at 2023, Jul 13
Practical Competence of Skipper Rank
Feel competent but not confident to be a skipper yet, my prior experience was zero tho. He is respectful and open to feed back.
Showing 1 - 10 of last 60 reviews.