THE CREW and THE OWNERS

Come enjoy the friendship of the Crew and Owners of the Ursa Major and experience Alaska  with a crew not dressed in servant whites but  here to provide you with your own customized cruise...to create Your Alaska Experience.    Make these new friends you find in Alaska  part of the enjoyment of these incredible areas.   Come off the beaten path to see and experience these cruising grounds aboard a well founded true trawler yacht to live your dream trip.   Make  your first trip with us in these remarkable waters and perhaps begin to plan for your own boat and  future cruising dreams.     

Captain JoshUA Haury :  Josh has worked with the Ursa Major since 2000 and performed every possible duty aboard Ursa and similar  boats including of steward, chef,  kayak master, engineer/mechanic, tour guide and trainer for trawler purchasers........all with his indomitable smile and enthusiasm.  Josh has earned his wings in over eleven years at sea in all points between Alaska and Mexico.   Captain Josh has his Coast Guard 200 Ton License, 500 Ton International License and STCW certification for international waters and safety at sea.   Captain Josh is guiding our guests in both Alaska and Baja and sharing with them these marvelous cruising grounds with his infectious laugh.   Josh's hand on the camera, the helm, or the shrimp and crab pot line is equally as talented.   Almost nothing delights our guests more than "smoozin' with Josh" in the wheelhouse, on the aft deck or sun deck, at dinner or checking out the local harbors where he is known and loved.   Josh has his eye on some premium dive sites in the Sea of Cortez in Baja Mexico for his time off and is working on his cold water diving in Alaska this year with local dive masters.   He laughing relates that command of a crew of females on a boat owned by women owners may seem like walking straight into "suspected and controlled mutiny around every corner".  Capt Josh is a brave man.   Moreover, it is a testament to his easy going personality and exceptional skills and unquestionable rational commands that our guests frequently comment on how enjoyable a cruise with Josh as captain is, --as there is never any of that boat trip tension.   Captain Josh achieves smooth competency in his crew and flexibility in our plans to make your customized trip everything you could dream of experiencing.    Relaxing, adventurous, reinvigorating.....your ALASKA experience to be savored and enjoyed....not feeling trapped as a cruise ship's customer target.  As we say in nautical lingo.....Captain Josh will MAKE IT SO.    

First Mate/Kayak Master/Naturalist Emily Waschak:   Emily begins her fifth year aboard the Ursa Major in Baja and Alaska after working on her Masters in Marine Biology at the renown Oregon State University program.   She has years of experience as an fisheries observer in the Gulf of Alaska, researching aboard boats for NOAA in the Bering Sea, and teaching aquaculture in Africa.    Guests marvel  at the expanse of her experience and knowledge of all things maritime, fishing, and wildlife.      Not bad for a kid from OHIO originally!  Come enjoy the stories she can tell you of whales, of rockfish, of politely monitoring and pointing out the misbehaviors of crusty commercial fishermen on factory trawlers.    Her shock of beautiful curly red hair always helps our guests know where the kayak master is headed and the joke is that all she needs to do is stand on the bow and you can tell both wind direction and humidity!     Ask her about the troubles of being a pregnant rockfish and you are talking to someone at the cutting edge of marine biology.   Emily caught Josh's eye (rumor has it was  vice-a-versa)  in port in Newport Oregon as the Ursa Major made her trip South to Mexico and Emily was doing research there.   With a love of each other and the sea, they found time between voyages to have a wedding this year and a continue to foment a plan for a cruising future including the addition to the family of a .....SAILBOAT.  

Visit Josh and Emily's adventures on their blogspots   

http://MyUrsaAdventure.blogspot.com  

and   

http://AdventureAtSea.blogspot.com. 

OwneR Dr. V. Joyce GAuthier:   Dr. Joyce rarely allows herself to be aboard the Ursa Major during charter season due to overworking as a physician in rheumatology (arthritis) and moonlighting in emergency medicine.   Joyce supports this majestic trawler yacht for the  love of this magnificent vessel and the joy it bring the guests who enjoy the Ursa.    Joyce manages the charter bookings today and she dreams of those days when work won't interfere with cruising more with our guests or working on the preservation of the Ursa.    The crew has suggested she post the photo of her being covered in bilge water and grease for the website but since she gets final editorial approval on this website site, you won't see that one here.     When you contact Ursa Major Charters you will reach her by phone or email.    Through articles and talks, Dr. Gauthier has helped make Ursa Major, the 65 foot Malahide Trawler Yacht, perhaps the best known classic trawler yacht chartering for your enjoyment.     Becoming somewhat of a legend herself in the process as  "that crazy lady doctor who owns the Ursa Major" Joyce is committed to preserving and sharing this amazing vessel with others who can appreciate both the boat and the experience of cruising aboard a fine classic trawler yacht.    You may never own a classic trawler of your own, so why not come enjoy this incredible vessel?   With the growing role of women as owners of boats, Joyce has been a treadsetter in an unusual way.     Joyce came to own this boat somewhat inadvertently and has learned over the last 15 years of necessity and sometimes at the amazement of the maritime community of Seattle how best to preserve this vessel (see article links on our home webpage for links to published stories about this).   She has taken on the responsibility of  sharing the intricate history of this vessel and the other Malahide and Romsdal trawler yachts that are Ursa's sisterships.   You can enjoy these stories via articles, websites (www.classictrawlers.net), and talks or just a quick email of phone call.        Joyce spends considerable amounts of what little free time she has locating and interviewing prior owners and their families, unearthing the history of the Ursa's time with the Mafia and in the America's Cup, and managing the bookings and maintenance of the Ursa.   She has an incredible commitment to sharing the stories with our guests as well as doing what is necessary to position this unique vessel in two of the finest cruising grounds in the world (Southeast Alaska and the Sea of Cortez in Baja Mexico).   Take advantage of this to allow yourself the opportunity to live your cruising dreams aboard this unique and comfortable vessel.   You can reach Joyce at info@myursamajor.com or directly at VJGauthier@aol.com, charter cell phone 206-310-2309 to plan a trip, share a story, tell us your dreams, or make a suggestion.     Joyce is assisted in this activity by her sister Cami Gauthier Cash, who lived and worked aboard the Ursa Major full time from 1995 to 2005.  Cami  now provides shore based logistic support for Captain Josh and for Joyce in running the day to day procurement of materials, mailings, boatsitting for Captain Josh's vacations, and assisting in repair of varnish and paint aboard the boat, as well as keeping Dr. Joyce alive running from job to job.       She still holds the record for being in more compartments and spaces aboard the boat that any other known person and is aware the anyone who wishes to try will find remanants of her DNA embedded in almost every finish and compartment of the boat (she has to stop watching those forensic crime programs).