Jess Wurzbacher

Jess Wurzbacher holds a master’s degree in tropical coastal management from Newcastle University (U.K.) and a 200-ton Master license. She sailed all over the world as chief scientist  and program manager for Seamester and is a PADI scuba instructor with more than 1,000 research and training dives to her credit.

All this makes her ideally suited to her current gig as executive director of the non-profit organization behind Rhode Island’s tall ship, Oliver Hazard Perry, the first oceangoing, full-rigged ship to be built in the United States in more than 100 years. Wurzbacher may not be sailing the ship, but she’s certainly steering its course.

First memory of being on a boat: I set foot on a sailboat for the first time in 2004 when I joined Seamester as scientist aboard Ocean Star, an 88-foot schooner, in the British Virgin Islands. Six years and 40,000 nautical miles later, I’d almost sailed all around the world — and fallen in love with life at sea.

First boat you owned or skippered: Does my kayak count? I hold a six-pack license and Yachtmaster 200T certificate but have never had my own command. I took on many roles with Seamester — chief scientist, mate, program manager, dive instructor, purser. I was just as happy as a mate and running the educational programs and logistics.

Last or current boat: We own a little Bayliner. It’s by no means my dream boat, but it’s perfect to take our 4-year-old son out for some swimming and fishing. We’ve even slept a few nights on it. We hope to upgrade to a sailboat for some local cruising, but this suits us perfectly for now.