The YachtForums Editorial Team

About Us​

• The First Online Yachting Magazine – established 2003 by ex-managing editor of a leading yacht magazine.


• Hundreds of the Most Extensive Reviews Ever Published – by experienced yachting professionals.


• The Internet’s Most Popular Yachting Forum – notable owners, industry veterans and yacht buyers, sharing collective knowledge.


• Permanently Archived Yacht Discussions – indexed in leading search engines.


• Numerous Build Contracts Generated - YachtForums is a continuous source of qualified leads for our advertisers.


• Up to 2 Million Readers A Month - supported by the world's leading yacht builders, YF is recognized for expert content.

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Carl Camper
Publisher/Editor/Administrator​

Background:

Carl comes from a yachting family, owning and operating a dozen different yachts over the past 30 years, starting with Roamers in the 70's, to Hatteras in 80's and Browards in the 90's, along with multiple offshore race boats including Skaters and Powerplays. Growing up on the docks of Ft. Lauderdale's Bahia Mar, he sketched boats for fun, attracting the interest of Dick Bertram, Jack Hargrave and Frank Denison who encouraged a career in Naval Architecture.

Qualifications:

A hydrodynamic engineer and consultant to the Department of the Navy, Lockheed Aerospace, Bombardier and Yamaha Motor Corporation; his research in waterjet propulsion and high speed stabilization systems was the basis for a waterborne development program for the Department of Defense. Subsequent work included the development of an extensive line of OEM and aftermarket propulsion components.

Editorial Experience:

Composition of technical theses for presentations to congressional committees on defense contracts and a senior technical writer for several marine publications, Camper became the managing editor of a leading yacht magazine. In 2003, he founded YachtForums.com with a focus on yacht reviews written by experienced yacht owners, brokers and captains.

Research and Development:

Pioneering work in the areas of; Dual-Stage Axial Flow Waterjet Pumps, Intake Gullet Reduction Systems, Variable Geometry Venturis, Surface Piercing Jet Pump Drives, Super Cavitating Foils and Waterborne Surface Effect Vehicles. Associated work includes research in the areas of reflex impeller and stator technology, high speed stabilization, self-sustained propulsion systems and reduced signature design & materials.

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Capt. Chuck Gnaegy
Senior Writer​

Background:

Capt. Chuck Gnaegy is a man obsessed by the sea, to be near it, in or on it. A professional writer, photographer and artist, his 1,500 + articles and photographs have been featured in dozens of newspapers and magazines all over the U.S. and South America. His fine art paintings have received world-wide circulation and collectors; he’s noted in “Fine Art in America.”

Grandson of a Mississippi River Boat captain out of St. Louis, Mo. and Chester, Ill. – an inventor who held an 1875 patent for one of the first small boat propellers.. Chuck recalls as a boy sitting on the ground floor of his grandfather’s workshop, waiting for the mud to settle in a glass of river water so he could taste it. “Tasted just like the river smelled back then – clean, wild and free. I was hooked.”

Experience:

His first boat, a 10-foot wooden john boat he and a boyhood pal found adrift on the Ohio river, while in 7th grade. Water-logged, it needed lots of bailing, and eventually sank in the half-mile wide mid-stream, while they swam in the current for dear life to shore. His Dad grounded him for 6 months.

Later, he’d fish and water ski at Kentucky Lake, once caught a 45-lb. catfish on rod/reel. As his family grew, they moved to Miami, where he owned “Scorpio”, a 24-ft. sloop, at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club. He earned his Captain’s license in 1979; later upgraded to a Master’s license. For years he fished world–wide with Hall of Fame fisherman Stu Apte, for sail, shark, world record wahoo and giant tarpon.

Kids grown, he lived for 10 years on his 43’ motorsailer "My Word" in Key Largo and St. Thomas. Chartering and cruising the Bahamas and Caribbean as far south as Trinidad, he visited and reported on 32 island nations in top outdoor magazines; then went up the Amazon river and jungle on a fabled trip which was featured in the South American National Geographic, GeoMundo.

He has written also about trips to South American waters, in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Galapagos, Easter Island; the Pacific Coast, from Seattle to Peru, including Coiba, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.

Writing/Publishing Credits:

Variety, Miami Herald, Ft. Laud. Sun-Sentinel, Readers Digest, US, People, Sports Illustrated, Sports Afield, American Sportsman, Sea, MotorBoating & Sailing, Yachting, Rudder, Salt Water Sportsman, Yachts International and YachtForums.

Chuck cites many years of corporate business and advertising experience in his background, at the Director level in various highly respected international corporations. He's also quite proud to have contributed 80 reviews of luxury yachts for YachtForums.

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Capt. Tom Serio
Writer / Photographer​

Background:

Capt Tom Serio has parlayed over 20 years of boating and yacht management experience into a freelance writing and photography career. Coupled with a background in gas and diesel mechanics, and still maintaining a USCG 100-ton Master License, Serio brings a different perspective in his writings. Not just taken in with form and function of a yacht, Serio looks to the business end of yachts. For example, is a helm functional for a captain, can filters be changed easily at sea, etc. This allows readers to gain insight from a different pair of eyes, many times unveiling subtleties not always seen.

Editorial Experience:

A regular contributor to YachtForums.com, Serio has written several reviews, such as the Viking 82 Sportfish, Hargrave 84 and more. In addition, he worked the 2008 and 2009 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show providing live coverage for YachtForums. Serio also contributes to print publications such as The Triton and SEA Magazine. He has been published internationally in Supersail World and Boote-Exclusiv. His photos have been used by Perini Navi, Bellingham Bell and other firms. Most notably, Serio busted open the story and has continued to cover the ongoing saga of S/Y Legacy, marooned off Key West since 2005.

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Loren Schweizer
Contributing Writer​

Background:

Loren grew up in a boating family who rarely missed a weekend to cruise and fish the area around Fort Lauderdale. A self-professed “water-rat”, he ventured widely and frequently in his own 13-ft. Boston Whaler, from an early age, in order to fish, ski, dive, or to “just get out on the water for no particular reason.”

Experience:

Upon acquiring an Engineering degree from Florida Atlantic University, he went to work for Bertram Yacht in their engineering department for a year before joining the sales department. “The thirteen years I spent there provided a splendid opportunity to learn all aspects of proper boatbuilding & design, as well as the experience of dealing with customers from all over the U.S. as well as from around the world.”

Joining the world of brokerage, Loren has spent the last twenty years primarily with North, Central, and South American clients and has enjoyed their boating locales. Along the way, sales and listings have included mostly powerboats from 31 to 167 feet, numerous refits in local as well as foreign yards, and a few years being involved with new DeFever sales & construction (China) and representing the Real Ships yard in Alabama that builds steel/aluminum expedition vessels.

Editorial:

With over 30 years in boatbuilding and brokerage, Loren still remains passionate about the business, expressing his knowledge with a certain 'written wit' on YachtForums. He was invited to join the YF editorial team in 2007. Since then, he has written several reviews for YachtForums including the Bertram 70' Sportfish, the Hatteras 77' Skylounge and the Hatteras 60GT Tournament Sportfish.

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Judy Waldman
Associate Writer​

Background:

Judy’s first boating experiences were from growing up in Memphis and fishing on the Mississippi. Boating only got better from there eventually owning motorsailers ranging from a 76’ Palmer Johnson to 100’ Ankon Marine. Judy has sailed from Maine to Glacier Bay and covered most ports and islands in between.

With business experience, college degrees and love of the cruising and live-aboard lifestyle, Judy began her career of yacht brokerage in 1995 with prestigious firms such as Richard Bertram Yachts, as well as smaller brokerage companies. Although Judy’s sales of sportfishermen, sailboats, express cruisers, and various motoryachts was successful, it was her belief in the trawler market that led her to establish a yacht brokerage company dedicated to trawlers and long-range cruisers in 2000, JW Yachts.

Judy has become internationally recognized as a trawler and long-range cruiser specialist. She has been a repeat featured speaker at PassageMaker Magazine’s Annual Trawlerfest and has recently become a writer for YachtForums. Her most recent reviews include the Cheoy Lee Serenity 68' Long Range Cruiser, the Sea Spirit 60' Passagemaker and the Bering 55' Trawler.

Having sold more than 100 yachts, 70 of them being trawlers or long-range cruisers, having attended the sea trial and survey on most of them, and being a previous yacht owner, Judy offers a unique level of expertise to YachtForums.

Experience:

She's been a manufacturers representative for several notable yacht builders, including ABD Aluminum, A.F. Theriault, Bering Yachts, Buccaneer Yachts, Cape Horn Trawlers, Cheoy Lee, Kanter Yachts, Linssen, NorthWest Trawlers, Northern Marine, Seaforth Marine, Yachtsmiths International.

Among the various yachts she's sold and become familiar with are: A.F. Theriault, Albin, Azimut, Baia, Bering, Bertram, Cammenga, Cape Horn Trawlers, CarriCraft, Cheoy Lee, Concorde, CSB, de Alm, DeFever, Endeavour, Fairline, Fathom, Grand Banks, Great Harbor, Hatteras, Heritage, Jeantot, Kanter, Krogen, Lang, Leopard Sport, Linssen, Marine Trader, Mason, Mirage, Mochi Craft, Nordic Tug, Nordhavn, Pilgrim, Sea Ray, Spindrift, Symbol, Tiger Marine, Tortola, Treworgy, and Yachtsmiths Int.

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Lars Modin
Moderator / Editor​

Prelude:

Every generation, every industry and every interest has an individual who stands out, a person who influences our direction and someone who raises the bar. In yacht design, names like Hargrave and Bannenberg come to mind. Over the past decade, we've witnessed the influence of the design team at Sunseeker. Recently, the duo of Nuvolari & Lenard have made their bold, edgy impact.

In early 2004, a gentleman named Lars Modin joined YachtForums with an unusually high level of knowledge about yacht engineering, design and practical use. Although his name was new, his designs and ideas struck a familiar cord, a vein that runs deep among yachtsmen... classic, traditional style with modern, contemporary elements. A timeless combination that captures the essence of yachting.

Background:

Lars worked as an Art Director at Advertising agencies such as Y&R and BBDO in Stockholm for 20 years. He was the Design Director at Björn Borg Design Group, which brought him to Monaco, where he remained for 12 years working as both a Yacht Captain (Moonen 85) and a Broker. Here, he began his work as a Yacht Designer. Later, he returned to Stockholm to continue working as a designer. IN 2002, he started a successful new brand, Delta Powerboats.

Experience:

Growing up in the archipelagos of Sweden, Lars has owned many boats, both power and sail. Competition among friends resulted in becoming active in Offshore Powerboat Racing for 20 years. He was also involved in Sailing Competitions and Skipper of a Swan 651 for charter. He has been active in organizing some of the most important Powerboat Races in Sweden for 40 years.

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Kevin Heistermann
Moderator / Editor​

Background:

Professionally, Kevin is the vice-president of a Canadian aerospace company that produces parts for manufacturers such as Bombardier, Learjet, Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed-Martin, Sikorsky, Embraer, Bell Helicopter, and even the space shuttle. His official responsibility is Quality Control, ensuring the parts supplied to his customers meet or exceed stated requirements, but unofficially he's the resident "problem solver", working closely with his customer's engineering teams in the development phase of their parts.

Experience:

Kevin's been an active member of YachtForums since its inception. In 2005, Kevin joined YF as a moderator and has since began editing press releases and composing special features.

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Ron Maynard
News Editor​

Background:

Ron joined YachtForums in 2006 with an unusually high level of knowledge about ships and yachts. A passionate enthusiast, he began scouring the Internet for the latest information, then returning to YF to share it with members. He became so proficient at finding news and composing press releases, he signed on as YF's News Editor. Since then, Ron has uploaded 1000's of news articles to YachtForums and along the way, this young man has become a very respected member of our community.

Ron lives and goes to university in St. Michael, Barbados. In his free time, he enjoys photography, design and catching the latest yachts that cruise into the Port St. Charles Marina.

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