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Capt. Rob Yeomans first stepped aboard the Erica Lee at eight years old in 1980, when he began his apprenticeship working with his father, Capt. Bob Yeomans. Rob has been captain of the Erica Lee since 1992 and has worked aboard her for 28 years.

He holds a 100-ton USCG license, and has more than 25 years of experience catching cod, haddock, pollock, cusk, ocean cat, mackerel, blues, bass and giant Atlantic bluefin tuna.

In the off-season, Rob, who earned a BA Biology (1996) and a MA in Teaching Biology from Salem State (2000) teaches Anatomy & Physiology, Biology, and Marine Biology at Newburyport High School. He taught biology at Lynn Classical High School from 1996 to 2005.

Rob serves on the board of directors of the Gulf of Maine Marine Educator's Association.

Capt. Kate Yeomans (right) grew up on the water messing about in family-owned recreational boats before heading to sea as a deckhand on the Newburyport whale watch boat Capt. Red at age 12,a seasonal job she held for more than ten years. During this time she attained a 100-ton USCG license, met Rob and they married in 1996. They have two young sons.

In the off-season, Kate writes about the sea and the people who work and recreate upon it. She is the Editor of Maptech's Embassy Cruising Guides, a series of four bi-annual guides spanning the cruising waters from Canada to Alabama. She is also at work on a second book of nonfiction. She has a BA in Journalism from UNH (1995) and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College (1999). Her award-winning work has appeared in Boston Magazine, Boston Sunday Globe Magazine, Cruising World, Commercial Fisheries News, National Fisherman, Offshore, Professional Mariner, Robb Report, Voyaging and others. She is the author of Dead Men Tapping: The End of the Heather Lynne II.

Kate also serves on the board of directors of the Gulf of Maine Marine Educator's Association.

John O'Leary has taught aboard the Erica Lee since 1998 and is in charge of BOAT CAMP's marine education curriculum development. He earned a B.S. Marine Biology from UMASS/Dartmouth in 1980 and a
Masters Ed./Technology in Education from Lesley University in 1998. He pursued additional classes in marine science and education from Cornell, UMASS, Endicott College, and Salem State. He is certified to teach all levels (K-12) as an Instructional Technology Specialist, as well as Biology (grades 7-12) and Elementary Science (grades 1-6).

He taught earth science at Memorial Middle School in Beverly for two years before joining the science department at Triton Regional High School from 1984-1998. He developed Triton's marine science curriculum, and taught courses in Biology, Life Science, and Marine Biology/Oceanography.
(He taught Marine Biology/Oceanography to Rob & Kate during the 1990-1991 school year.)

Since 1998, John has workd as the Technology Specialist at the Dr. John C. Page School in West Newbury where he also teaches a number of teacher education workshops.

Mike Slazar retired in 2006 after teaching science for the Lynn Public Schools for more than 35 years, including Science Department Chair.

He earned a BA Biology with a Chemistry minor Salem State College in 1970, and in 1972 earned an M.A. T. in Chemistry from Salem State. He has also attended summer institutes in Biochemistry at UMass, U.N.H., B.U., and The DNA Learning Center in Cold Springs Harbor, NY. Mike has taught high school courses in Life Science, Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Advanced Placement Biology.

Mike enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, as well as reading, fishing and more fishing.

Kim Harty is a very enthusiastic member of our board of directors. She brings to our program considerable experience as the director of YMCA programs in the greater Hartford area, as well as a year as the executive director of the greater Newburyport YWCA.

Kim earned a BA in Business Administration from Wayne State University in Detroit and a MA in Human Service Administration from Springfield College. A long-time sailor, she adores kids and boats and brings a wealth of ideas towards developing our organization to best serve the greater Newburyport community.

Devin West began working aboard the ERICA LEE in 2001 and is a dedicated, skilled, friendly and hardworking deckhand. Now in his junior year, Devin is is studying criminal justice at Westfield State College in Westfield, MA, where he plans to pursue a career in environmental law enforcement.

Marissa Cap joins us this year for her fourth year as crew, and this is her ninth year aboard the Erica Lee. She participated in our Coastal Discoveries program starting at 9 years old.

Marissa is in her senior year at Maine's Carrabassett Valley Academy,where she's a member of the soccer team and skiing freeride team; she's also a Student Proctor, one who runs the student events and diciplinary meetings. In her free time, she helps with the community canned food drives and with the Maine Winter Olympics. This year she has been working very hard in her environmental science class with the installation of a solar pannel array at her school. While at CVA, Marissa has taken all of the science classes they have to offer and excelled in biology, geology and environmental science.

Her hobbies include fishing, geology, skiing and photography. She plans to go to a maritime college and study marine transportation or marine engineering. Marissa figures just about everything she knows about marine life, she learned aboard the Erica Lee!

Olivia Cap joins us this year for her fourth year as crew, and this is her ninth year aboard the Erica Lee, as she was a participant in our Coastal Discoveries program starting at 9 years old.

She is in her senior year at The Hill School, a private high school, in Pottstown, PA, where she is captain of the indoor and outdoor track teamsand secretary of the Hill Athletic Association. (She must have gotten those leadership skills from the Erica Lee!)

Olivia plans to study Environmental Science and Biochemistry at a college still to be determined....

Steve Sofronas joins us as crew aboard the ERICA LEE in 2002. An avid surfer who has surfed off the beaches of California, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, he has travelled extensively and brings a global perspective to our days at sea. He earned a B.A. in Spanish from UMASS Amherst
with a Minor degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation, and in 2006 earned a Masters in Teaching from Salem State College..
He has taught high school students for the past 10 years, including his current position at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School; he taught Spanish at Lynn Classical High School for seven years.

When not aboard the Erica Lee or surfing, Steve spends time snowboarding, fishing and playing bass guitar in local band Kings Highway from Hampton, NH.

   Grace Pezzella will start her first year working aboard the Erica Lee this summer. She has completed five consecutive years of camp, and loves being out on the ocean.

Grace is a freshman at Newburyport High School. Aside from fishing and boating, Grace loves music, theater, skiing, and politics. Grace is planning on pursuing a career in politics or writing, but in the mean time is thrilled to be working on the Erica Lee this summer!

Paul Aziz has been an educator since he began teaching SCUBA diving in 1991. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.  He has taught field marine ecology from the elementary school level to the graduate school level. Paul has also been a U.S.C.G. licensed captain since 1995, and he currently holds a 100 ton master’s license. 

Paul’s boating experience includes piloting commercial and private sailing vessels from Maine to the Caribbean, as well as six years operating a fleet of commercial towing and salvage vessels for the Boat/U.S. network.  Before taking over the Yankee Clipper in 2006, Paul was co-owner and captain of Ninth Wave Sailing Charters, where he taught marine ecology, sailing, and environmental education to the young and young-at-heart aboard a 48 foot sailing catamaran.

Janet Allen-Aziz is a life long proponent of outdoor education as a means to raise healthy families.  The proud mother of six children, Jan is a veteran of eight marathons and many Outward Bound programs. When Jan isn’t aboard the Yankee Clipper, she teaches Bikram yoga, and she’s also certified to teach Childlight Children’s Yoga. 

Jan’s artistic flair and passion for education is evidenced all over the Yankee Clipper in the children’s activities. Jan is highly motivated to give children positive alternatives to the sedentary media-type forms of entertainment which contribute to obesity, heart disease, and other health problems.

Paul and Jan’s vision for the Yankee Clipper when they purchased it in 2006 was to transform the business into a family-friendly, educational platform from which they could further their environmental goals. Their aim is to teach the community about the importance of protecting the magnificent natural resources in the ocean and in our own back yard. Their eco-tours of Newburyport Harbor and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge are very popular with both local residents and tourists, and now they can offer young children a comprehensive, multidisciplinary field experience geared toward turning the students of today into the environmental stewards of tomorrow.

John Halloran is a lifelong educator who has been at the forefront of the experiential education movement in the United States since the 1970’s. For 36 years, he taught natural science in the Newburyport Public Schools, and is currently completing a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies. John has a special interest and expertise in teacher training and standards for learning in math and science. In 1980 John founded Adventure Learning, a company which is actively involved with educational outreach in area schools and recreational programs for teens and adults. He has also lead and taught for Outward Bound.

Since 2005 John has served both on the Board of Directors and also as Science Education Director of the Gulf of Maine Institute, where he helps to create awareness in students about issues that affect their communities, helps them to create projects that address these issues, and teaches them the civic engagement skills to seek solutions. John is also a U.S.C.G. licensed captain, and he continues to lead kayaking, sailing, and mountaineering expeditions in Alaska, Central and South America, Africa, New Zealand, Antarctica, and Europe.