Our Instructors

  • Capt. Sarah Lawrence

    Owner of CBA, Capt. Sarah grew up on the Chesapeake Bay helping with the family marine towing & salvage company and spending winters living aboard the family boat cruising the ICW to the Bahamas. Her on-water instruction began as a teenager when she coached junior sailing. After racing in St. Mary’s College collegiate sailing, she lived aboard her 41’ Morgan sailboat in the Bahamas, running an ASA Sailing School and working as a charter captain and doing deliveries around the Bahamas, Caribbean and East Coast. Capt. Sarah currently works in the family TowBoatUS business and is passionate about boating safety. It is her goal to help build confident, safe boaters and share her love of the water with her students. Sarah is a 100 ton USCG Captain, NSBC Instructor, US Powerboating Instructor, US Sailing Instructor and American Sailing Association Instructor.

  • Capt. Eva Kerchner

    Capt. Eva joined CBA in May of 2023 and brings a wide range of boating experience and love of the Chesapeake. You may find her driving the Deale Tiki boat, fishing with her grandkids aboard her pontoon boat or on duty as the local Park Ranger. Capt. Eva brings a warm, professional, can-do attitude and years of living on and around the Bay. Chesapeake Boating Academy is excited to welcome Capt. Eva and have another female captain on the team!

  • Capt. Scott Smith

    Capt. Scott, also known as “Capt Smitty” is an Eastern Shore native and life long boater. He is retired PG County Police with a focus in K-9. In his recent retirement from the police department, he has began focusing on boating deliveries, instruction and Captain services. Capt Smitty brings attention to detail, a professional and friendly demeanor and strong boat handling. We are excited to have him aboard!

  • Capt. Alex Sterling

    Capt. Alex is a welcomed addition to the CBA team. He joins us from our sister company, TowBoatUS Kent Narrows & Knapps Narrows where he has been a part-time captain for over 7 years. Capt. Alex is a graduate of SUNY Maritime with a 1600 ton Master License. He also works as a Tug Captain out of Norfolk, VA and aboard a paddleboat. Capt. Alex is also a Master PADI dive instructor and avid outdoorsman. Capt. Alex excels in boat handling and brings a confident, calm professional demeanor.

  • Capt. Adam Lawrence

    Capt. Adam holds a 100 ton Masters USCG license. His boating experience spans from years of running yachts in the Bahamas and East Coast to captaining towboats on the Chesapeake Bay. Also known as Captain Adventure, his local knowledge, innate boat handling and outgoing demeanor will have you smiling as you learn. Capt. Adam is not only the fleet Captain of our local TowBoatUS company, he did 2 full towboat refits over the last few years as well as upgrading our current training vessel so that it is integrated with all new safety equipment and electronics. Capt. Adam is also the husband to Capt. Sarah and together they are raising two mini-captains, who are currently still in the deck swab status, but quickly rising in the ranks.

  • Capt. Ryan Silbaugh

    Capt. Ryan holds a 100 ton USCG Masters license. His strength as an NSBC Instructor come from years of working in the Navy, teaching diving courses and fine-tuned boat handling as a Captain for Tow Jamm Marine/ TowBoatUS Kent Narrows. Capt. Ryan grew up in North Carolina running different boats and his shared passion and enthusiasm make him an ideal instructor for our on-water courses. His calm and confident demeanor add to his skills as an instructor. You may also find Capt. Ryan hanging out with his mini Captain-in-training, running deliveries or welding.

Our Instructors

  • Deck-Swab Dashi

    Joining our crew this year is our new rescue dog, Dashi. Dash is an Australian Cattle Dog (Heeler) who loves to shadow us aboard the boat and go for swims at local beaches. You may see Dashi cruising around the Kent Narrows, so keep a lookout for a cute pup in a red lifejacket! Dash has 2 older sisters, Sushi and Nori who also enjoy family boat days.