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| Captain Andrea Bill at the helm |
By LEN BOSE
It was my second year sailing FJs at Orange Coast College, where I teamed up with Julie Norman as crew. Norman is a naturally skilled sailor and was much faster than I was, yet it was her first year on the team, and she agreed to crew for me.
In our first regatta, we won the B division and sailed in Newport Harbor. My coach separated us because he said, “You two are too fast; it’s not fair to the rest of the team.” I never understood my coach’s decision, but what I did understand was that there is no male advantage over females while competing on the water. My observations have always recognized that females have better awareness, focus, swiftness, and temperament…just to name a few advantages they have over men.
She returned home again and then had a short stay in the Cayman Islands before obtaining her U.S. captain’s license, where she drove the yellow submarine and glass-bottom boat along with the shore boats in Catalina for a season. This is where Bill met her partner, Desi Jones, who has been the go-to marine mechanic on Catalina for many years. The thought occurred that maybe she should get a real job in wholesale mortgage lending. “Well, that did not work out very well,” Bill said.
She then found work driving boats on Big Bear Lake, where she became attached to the owners. “I still consider them like my second family, which is why we purchased a house in Big Bear some 20 years ago,” Bill said. She then found work in Lido Village next to Electra Cruises, where she was then hired by Electra Cruises to captain any one of their five large vessels.
I recall when I first met Captain Andrea Bill at the dock of a 43’ Express Cruiser, she was to deliver it to the Basin Shipyard for the owner. Even before stepping on the boat, there was no apprehension in her step – she owned this. It was immediately apparent that her piloting skills were the best I had ever witnessed. Fast forward two years, and the same owner of the 43’ Express Cruiser just purchased a 76’ SunSeeker. It was déjà vu all over again – Captain Bill already owned this boat with all of its advanced features and masterfully maneuvered the yacht in one of the most difficult areas of our harbor, which is the new side tie where the Reuben E. Lee was berthed. We were headed out on sea trials on the 76’ SunSeeker, and the tide was ripping out of the breeze coming from the west at eight knots, and traffic was approaching from every direction. Bill picked me up from the side tie, showing no effort at all, just confidence that she owned this. I walked up to the helm and thanked her for making it easy for me to step aboard; at 65 years old, I don’t jump any longer. That’s when I had my flashback and asked her if she would be interested in an interview.
I’m not sure if my long introduction is truly relevant to interviewing Captain Bill; it’s just how my observation filters through my head. She grew up in Newport Beach and spent her childhood sailing, exploring, and enjoying the Newport Dunes Water Park in the Back Bay. She explained she was always a water brat and attended California State University, Fullerton, on a volleyball scholarship with two degrees in marketing and finance. During this time, she did a study abroad in Florence and traveled to Egypt, where she stayed with a friend for a month, wanting to go snorkeling in the Red Sea each day. After graduating, she traveled to Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand, where she planned on staying for two weeks, and ended up staying for two years. She then became a dive instructor.
“As an instructor, you end up driving the different boats,” Bill said. These boats were more than 100 feet and always on the move; each crew member had to stand a watch, so that is where she started to develop her boat-handling skills. She quickly realized that there was no real money as a dive instructor and started the path to become a captain, where she completed her first two tickets. A ticket is a captain’s license pending the size of the ship and amount of passengers.
After her first tour in New Zealand, Bill returned home for a short time and then headed to Belize for a year, continuing to upgrade her captain’s license. Then she headed back to New Zealand and ran 45’ boats and smaller ones with six passengers.
“This was pretty cool because they just gave me the keys to the boat and I had a chance to dive all over the South Island,” Bill said. When COVID hit, this impacted the charter fleet, with Bill thinking it was time for her and Desi to travel. Fortunately, that’s when the marine industry was selling every boat in inventory, and the phone rang off the hook for lessons. Captain Bill is now working full time on the 76’ SunSeeker while instructing with Newport Coast Maritime Academy as a personal instructor and the Maritime Institute 100 Ton Course instructor.
I have been rather good at putting together offshore sailing teams and recognizing highly skilled boat operators and programs. Captain Andrea Bill is one of the best I have ever seen, and I am extremely fortunate to have crossed tacks with her.
To my readers: I must apologize, as all my time has been focused on sailing, and I have not found a story in more than two months that got me to sit down. I’m back on board now and will be back in a couple of weeks.
Sea ya.
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Len Bose is a yachting enthusiast, yacht broker and harbor columnist for Stu News Newport.
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