Meet Your Safety at Sea Team
Mike Bush
Moderator
A Firefighter/Paramedic for over 30 years, he recently retired from the Oak Park Fire Department in Suburban Chicago, attaining the rank of Battalion Chief. He holds U.S. Sailing Keelboat, Safety at Sea, and CPR certifications. Michael has 25 years of sailing experience on a wide variety of sailboats from 14 to 66 feet. He has 20,000+ miles sailed in a number of MAC, Super MAC, Super Hook, NOOD, Verve, Grenada race week, Port-to-Port, and weekly racing on the Great Lakes, as well as speaking at Safety at Sea events since 2007. Having competed in 20 Chicago Mac races, five as person-in-charge, he draws upon extensive crewed, double-handed, and solo sailing experience.
Captain Lesie Washburn
Co-Moderator
Leslie Washburn, raised sailing the Great Lakes, is a USCG licensed captain with a 50GTS MMC. She has accrued over40,000 bluewater miles through cruising, chartering, and deliveries, crossing both the Atlantic from west to east and the Pacific. As a competitive sailor, she has achieved podium finishes in both buoy and distance races, including the overall Chicago NOOD Championship, Verve Cup, Mackinac Cup, and N2E. With participation in over 27 Chicago to Mac regattas, she has also secured her membership in the Old Goat Society.
Jennifer Angone
Speaker
Certified Instructor with the USCG Auxiliary, a USCG Boat Crew Crewmember, Sea Scout Skipper, and Vice Flotilla Commander, Jennifer brings broad experience teaching boating safety in a variety of settings, educating sailors ranging from teens to the general public. Often seen aboard Sea Scout SV Mirage conducting MOB drills or instructing Sea Scouts on Columbia's dock with basic Seamanship skills, Jennifer is an experienced, skilled instructor in Chicago's maritime community.
Todd Basch
Speaker
Sailmaker Todd Basch has been running the Chicago Quantum shop since 2019. His career spans west coast to east, Florida, Texas, the Caribbean, France, Italy, and Peru. With a background that specialized in mega-sails for the largest boats in the world, sails on the Great Lakes are more manageable and, thankfully, weigh a lot less. Sailboat charter work in Hawaii, St. Thomas, an Atlantic crossing, delivery crew on the Harvey Gamage schooner from St. John's to Gloucester, a Bermuda race, Halifax race, and vintage racing aboard the 12 Meter, Valiant, make up a portion of his sailing history.
David King
Speaker
Since June 2023, David King has served as a meteorologist at NWS Chicago. This office serves around 10 million residents across northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana, providing weather, marine, hydrologic, and aviation forecasts to protect life and property and enhance the national economy. David started with the National Weather Service in 2019 at the NWS Monterey office, which oversees the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to working at the National Weather Service, David held several positions within the private sector. David has a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma and a Master's in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Luke Wolbrink
Speaker
Luke Wolbrink is deeply involved in the Chicago maritime community. He is a member of both the Columbia Yacht Club and the Jackson Park Yacht Club. Luke began sailing over twenty years ago to connect with his grandfather, a pursuit that has grown into over 15,000 miles on the water. A veteran skipper on Lake Michigan, Luke has led various programs to section wins in major regional regattas and a podium finish in the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. A US Sailing member and Moderator in Training for the Safety at Sea program since 2019, he brings this "safety first" mindset to his racing programs, viewing safety as a core ethos rather than a checklist. Guided by the belief that even the most experienced sailors are always learning, Luke focuses on how methodical preparation and an honest, evolving safety culture help crews navigate the inherently dynamic environment of offshore racing.