During the 1998 Orange Bowl in Miami, Richie chartered a 47 foot sailboat on Biscayne Bay and took several of his classmates from the University of Tennessee sailing for the day. Not only was it fun, but he was able to see firsthand how rewarding it was to introduce people to sailing that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity. Over the past 20 plus years, Captain Richie has exposed thousands upon thousands of guests to the magic of sailing on a multitude of vessels spanning the entire Gulf of Mexico, Eastern Seaboard, Bahamas, and Caribbean.
Captain Richie Mahoney
Owner & Founder
Captain Richie holds a 1600 / 3000 ton Master’s license from the United States Coast Guard. He began his sailing career at the age of 4 on the mountain lakes of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. He has sailed on the collegiate level, done extensive coastal cruising, made ocean passages, and has skippered in several high profile regattas. Professionally, he has captained a wide array of vessels from the offshore oil and gas industry to offshore tug boats to high capacity passenger vessels and everything in between.
Captain Michael Martin
Tampa, Florida
Vice President, Operations
USCG Licensed 50 Ton Master
Captain David Barrow
Chattanooga, Tennessee
USCG Licensed 50 Ton Master
Retired criminal defense attorney turned captain
Captain Glen Sears
Buffalo, New York
USCG Licensed 100 Ton Master
SUNCOAST HORIZON is a 55′ Merritt Walter custom designed Merry Rover gaff rigged, topsail schooner. She is US Coast Guard Inspected for up to 28 passengers. Horizon was built in 2000 in Old Town, Florida, just off the Suwannee River and previously sailed as the famous “Capt Kidd” in Galveston, Texas. She has been featured in several travel magazines and commercials and her iconic features are a true feast for the eyes for sailors and land lubbers alike. Her sister ships include the Downeast Rover in Outer Banks, North Carolina and the Alaskan Rover.
SUNCOAST ESCAPADE is a Whitby 42 Center Cockpit Ketch. She was designed by Ted Brewer and built in Whitby, Ontario, Canada in 1976. She was Cruising World Magazine’s “Bluewater Boat of the Year” from 1977 until 1986. She is 44 feet long, 54 feet tall, carries just under 780 square feet of sail, she weighs in at 32,000 pounds. She spent most of her life, until 2012, in Canada. In 2012, she was sailed down the East Coast of the United States from Canada and made the jump over to the Bahamas and then back over to Ft. Lauderdale. In 2015, Captain Richie purchased her in Ft. Lauderdale and spent a year refinishing the interior and upgrading her many systems to make her a modern, reliable, cruising vessel.