Kenneth Appleton
CAPCA President, USCG 50GT Masters

Raised in a family that loved the water, I had my license to operate passenger vessels of not more than 10 Tons by the time I was 19. I used it while teaching sailing and eventually spent a summer running a launch for a small club on Long Island Sound. After college I joined the U.S. Coast Guard to satisfy my service obligations and found I loved it. I started my career in Boating Safety and retired as a captain and Chief of the Coast Guard’s Contingency Planning Division for civil and military preparedness.

My wife, daughter and I moved to the Annapolis area in 1994 and fell in love with some of the finest cruising grounds in the world.

I have raced and cruised on sailboats all my life, and once retired, have been able to indulge my passion through chartering or crewing on other people’s boats (OPBs). I earned my 50-ton Masters License with sail endorsement in 2006 and joined CAPCA shortly thereafter as a means to furthering my boating experiences. In a small way I hope to repay those who have helped me by volunteering to support CAPCA. This is an impressive group to be associated with, and I am honored to take a trick at the helm as your President.

I was introduced to sailing and the Chesapeake Bay almost 20 years ago while living in Pennsylvania. I continue to enjoy the simple pleasures of being on the Bay and find myself happiest when I am on the water. Since my introduction to the Bay, I have been working my way south to be living in the heart of the Annapolis maritime community.

I received my 50T Masters Inland license in 2005 and served as CAPCA Secretary from 2006 until 2009. Over the past year I have served as Publicity Chair for CAPCA. During my tenure, CAPCA has undertaken an aggressive marketing program with the intention of increasing job opportunities for CAPCA membership.

My professional career over the last 32 years has been founding, growing, managing, and working with non-profit agencies that provide community services to individuals and families with disabilities. At the age of 25, I had a passion to assist others in need and founded Holcomb Behavioral Health Systems, a non-profit agency that continues to serve various communities throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I was presented with an opportunity to create jobs for people with disabilities through the AbilityOne program and founded A.C.E. Industries, Inc. (Access Competent Employees). Today these agencies are part of the Chimes Family of Services and continue to grow and provide valuable community resources for individuals and families with disabilities. My role today with Chimes is as a Benefit Coordinator overseeing a multi-million dollar Health and Welfare Trust Fund.

I remain an avid sailor who owns a powerboat. I’m committed to growing “KHMaritimeservices, LLC” into a retirement business that will combine my love of traveling, photography, and my passion for yoga retreats in tropical climates.

I strongly believe in the mission of CAPCA and look forward to serving as your Vice-President.

Mike Cosenza
CAPCA Treasurer, USCG Unlimited Masters

My nautical experience began the day after I graduated from a Long Island high school and reported to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, in New London, CT. I ended up wearing those slightly less than stylish blue uniforms for the next 30 years. In addition to a variety of shore jobs, I served on ships in Juneau, Key West and Newport, Rhode Island and commanded them in Sandy Hook, Honolulu and Galveston.

I first came to the Maryland in the early 1990s to teach seamanship and navigation at the U.S. Naval Academy. During my time at USNA, I earned my first license and over the years upgraded until I ended up with a master of steam and motor vessels of any gross tons upon oceans (AKA an unlimited license).

After retiring, I drove a Philadelphia based Vane Brothers tug moving a oil barge up and down the East Coast. After that I skippered harbor tour boats in DC and Baltimore, water taxis in Annapolis as well as working for Tow BoatUS, in Annapolis. I enjoy sharing my experience and I have taught a handful of courses to merchant mariners at Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) near BWI.

I also believe in giving back to my community, so in addition to helping with the after school programs at the Annapolis Maritime Museum I volunteered to be your treasurer.

Bill Harrison
CAPCA Secretary, USCG 50GT Masters

William S. Harrison is a retired U S Navy Captain. He started sailing through the shallow spots of the South River in high school in the mid fifties, and joined the Navy and started out as an aircraft mechanic. Along the way, He earned his FAA commercial pilot’s license, but found that boating is just more fun. He has been a licensed master for 24 years.

He has sailed in New England, The New Your Barge Canals, The Chesapeake Bay, The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to Florida The Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and participated in the Annapolis to Bermuda Race. Bill is a former President of CAPCA, and has taught sailing at the U S Naval Academy and other sailing associations.

Bill is fully retired and lives in Edgewater where he keeps his sailboat. He is a member of the Eastport yacht Club, The Naval Academy Sailing Squadron and the Fleet Reserve Association. His son Sandy is a CAPCA member as well.

Priscilla Travis
CAPCA Programs Director, USCG 100GT Masters

In 1977 I first visited Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay area, and thought it would be a great place to live. It took a while, but in 2003 I moved to Chester and became a new Kent Islander. Over 38 years my career led me into television producing and directing, a number of theatrical stage directing activities and a long stint as a university professor in the Communication, Broadcasting and Theatre fields. University teaching allowed for three month summer vacations and in 1978, on my first boat, a 33’ Dutch-built steel sloop, I began nine seasons of summer cruising that covered east coast waters from Nyack, NY to Maine and Nova Scotia, with a Bermuda trip one summer and a 14 month full-time, round trip cruise from Nyack to Nova Scotia to the Bahamas. I earned my first USCG license in 1985, so I could get involved professionally on a part-time basis in teaching on the water and doing yacht deliveries.

In 1988 I commissioned the build of a new yacht, a 42-foot, Ted Brewer custom-designed steel and aluminum cutter that was fully commissioned in May of 1990. Preferring cooler summer climates I took Nomad from Norfolk, VA to Nova Scotia and based her in the Bras d’Or Lakes, which provides easy access the wonderful summer cruising areas of Newfoundland, Labrador, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Bras d’Or Lakes themselves. Biting the bullet and retiring early offered the chance to expand cruising grounds, so in 2003, with three friends, we sailed from Newfoundland to Ireland. Since then I spend summers in the waters of Scotland, Ireland, England and northern Norway. In 2007-2008 I circumnavigated the entire British Isles, from the Clyde to Shetland to the Channel Islands and back to the Clyde, most of it single-handed – a wonderful trip.

I look forward to serving as the Programs Director and hope CAPCA members will communicate suggestions for guests you would like to hear speak at our meetings. Continuing high-quality programs is important to achieving CAPCA’s commitment to serving the professional needs and varied interests and of our members.