Peter and Jana Set Sail to Hawaii and Alaska - Bon Voyage!
Written by Barbara McVeigh
Peter Buettner came to SEA in 2006 and took sailing lessons with John Paul Watts, Wayne McIntosh and others. He quickly became part of the "canvas" of the organization as in no time he began assisting adult classes at the docks of Sausalito and raced on SEA’s Santana 525s with SEA Race Fleet Captain Sandor Schoichet before the organization returned to San Rafael around 2012. He was committed to the art of sailing and would sometimes be seen single-handing a Catalina 16.5 on Richardson Bay. In 2009 Peter bought his own boat Kranich, a 1989 Ericson 38-200 and set his sights beyond the San Francisco Bay and into the Pacific Ocean with voyages up and down the coast.
In 2017, Peter received his US Sailing Instructor Certificate and started teaching sailing lessons at Loch Lomond. In 2018 he received SEA’s prestigious Volunteer of the Year Award.
Peter has played an important role in the organization over the years with his supportive efforts. He brought his nephews Noah and Javan aboard who got involved in the SEA youth program and who later participated as counselors in the film Racing with Copepod serving as the backbone for the youths' safety and film production on the water. Peter has always made himself and his boat available for sailing events and provided inspiration to new sailors, as his virtual voyage from bay dinghy to ocean cruising is one of SEA's hallmark success stories!
Peter’s partner Jana Olias learned sailing at SEA in 2017 and has been assisting in adult classes, participating in SEA regattas, etc.
For the past 5 years Peter and Jana have been living on Kranich on San Rafael Creek and have been working on outfitting her as an offshore capable passagemaker. In the next few weeks they will launch from San Rafael to Hawaii and then to Alaska, following in the footsteps of Ericson 38 cruising legends Nicole and Ryan Levinson (TwoAfloat) and Washington Post Editor Christian Williams. We will be joining them in spirit and wish them a grand voyage! When they return, currently scheduled for around Thanksgiving, we aim to throw them one fanciful welcoming home and can't wait to hear the stories of their trip that most of us only dream of doing!
You can follow their adventures at facebook.com/sykranich.
Safe travels, Peter and Jana!
p.s. On a personal note - I want to say how much I have appreciated Peter and Jana over the years. They've impacted my own life hugely, always positive and ready to tackle problems with a smile and good energy! There really are no words to share how much I have truly appreciated them - and I’ll aim to be the first in line to toast and celebrate them when they return. Have a beautiful trip, Peter and Jana!
note from Jana: Dear Barbara, thank you for writing such a lovely article about us, I hope it will inspire many more people to take Sailing to another level. This week we have been at the San Rafael Yacht Harbor painting the bottom of Kranich and increasing our drainage from the cockpit. Can’t wait to take off.
