Captain David Ryan learned to sail age the age of 10, over a weekend in 1976, in Newport Harbor, CA, in a friend's eight foot sabot. As teenager he sailed Lasers, Thistles, Hobiecats, Lido 14, Snipes and other dinghy classes.
At the age of 13 he became a mate on his father's commercial fishing boat, sailing out of San Diego for tuna and swordfish. When not sailing, fishing, or going to school, David surfed the reef and points of La Jolla, CA.
At the age of 16 David's family moved from Southern CA to the mountains of Southern OR, and David traded the beach and waves for canyons and whitewater. He learned to roll a kayak, and became a steep creek specialist, claiming several first descents on log and boulder choked runs in the Cascade mountain range. Surf casting and deep sea gear were traded for flyrod and reel, and David plied his his line in the Rogue, Umqua, and Klamath drainages, and on Oregon's coast rivers.
When he was 31 David and his wife Amelia moved to Montauk NY, and David's love of the ocean was born anew. He built and sailed boats from a six foot punt for his daughter to 25 gaff-rigged schooner for himself. Over the last 14 years he's surfed and fished Montauk's points and coves on their biggest swells and best bites. When the waves are flat, the wind is calm and the tide is low, David can often be found treading for quohogs or diving for oysters in Lake Montauk.
In 2007 David and Amelia bought the Catalina 38 INTEMPERANCE, a 70s era Sparkman & Stevens designed offshore raceboat, and began refitting as an eco-friendly high-performance offshore family cruiser, which they christened INTEMPERANCE.
Cruising INTEMPERANCE both with and his wife and daughters and alone, David has put nearly 10,000 miles under her keel, and made ports of call in Bermuda, St. Marteen, St. Croix USVI, The Bahamas, and numerous harbors from Palm Beach, FL to Block Island.
In 2011 David and Amelia used INTEMPERANCE to launch SAILING MONTAUK, a daysailing charter company operating out of Lake Montauk. Dedicated to sailing and sustainablity both, the entire season was completed, with over 2000 guest-hours on the water on 12 gallons of diesel, or mere ounces per trip!
David is a US Coast Guard Licensed Master Captain with certification in both CPR and First Aid and a PADI certified Open Water SCUBA Diver. He is a life-long waterman, passionate about sailing, fishing, surfing, and anything else that can be done in and around the water, even that's just sitting on the beach and making sandcastles with his daughters.
I'm building the catamaran MON TIKI because it is the perfect craft for me to me able to share my love of the ocean with everyone, from old salts to first timers who don't even know how to swim. MON TIKI gives me a way to share what I love in comfort and safety with anyone who wants to know, "What what's it like out there? What does it feel like to move through the water in virtual silence, powered by nothing but the wind?"
Spend a few hours with me on MON TIKI and find out. If you're bold, sit up front and enjoy the spray. If you're not sure, enjoy the well protected deck area. But how ever you enjoy your time on Mon Tiki, don't say I didn't warn you. I just might change your life! -- Captain David Ryan
