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Harbormasters are the stewards of our harbors – the center of our coastal communities. They manage the overall ecosystem, including moorings and docks, harbor uses and harbor users, and interactions between local, state and federal government. Of all of our public stewards (police, EMT, fire etc.) these men and women receive the least recognition.
Harbormaster Appreciation Day* -- a day to honor our U.S. Harbormasters and the great work they do -- occurs annually on October 8th.
* National Harbormaster Appreciation Day is registered with the National Day Archive.
Kristin Forster – Port Austin, MI
I have worked as the Harbormaster at Port Austin State harbor since June 2020. Before taking over as harbor master I worked as a summer worker at local state park. […]
Bill Draughon – Aventura, FL
I have been the Marina Director for 37 years. I have always been working on boats or in the marina my whole career. We have a beautiful 80 acre residential […]
Katherine Pickering – Belfast, ME
I’ve always felt fortunate to work on Belfast Harbor. I started in 1989 at a local boatyard before being appointed as Harbor Master for the City of Belfast in 1993 […]
Charlie Farlow – Cape Charles, VA
I retired from Virginia Beach Fire Dept. 4 years age and became Harbor Master of Cape Charles VA. I have been on or around the water all my life with […]
Wayne Johnson – Milwaukee, WI
I’ve been the harbormaster since 2010. The Port of Milwaukee is a department of the city of Milwaukee municipality. Currently have 40 years in city employment. Port Milwaukee is a […]
Bryan LeClerc – Southport, CT
In our small harbor of mostly pleasure boats our Harbor Master, Brian LeClerc, is responsible for a lot of things including: safety drills and safety training; harbor and shoreline inspection; debris […]
Steve Hope – New Harbor, ME
“Steve Hope has been serving our community for years, and I personally think his experience and knowledge of the area and being on the water, combined with the history and […]
Share a Story, Photo, or Video of Your Harbormaster!
We want to hear from you. Let us know about your harbormaster — they deserve the recognition!
Craig Stanton – Redondo Beach, FL
Craig Stanton, the harbormaster at the Redondo Beach Marina, exemplifies everything a professional harbormaster should be. He is knowledgeable, helpful, courteous and just salty enough to give a reassuring air […]
Jacob O’Kelley – Galveston, TX
I am the Senior Harbormaster for the Galveston Wharves (Port of Galveston – Port Authority). I have been in the Operations Department/Harbormaster’s role since June of 2018. Prior to this […]
Paul Blank – Newport Harbor, CA
I have been part of the Newport Harbor community since I completed City of Newport Beach Recreation Department sailing lessons as a child. That early introduction to sailing has led […]
INTERVIEWS WITH HARBORMASTERS
National Harbormaster Appreciation Day is brought to you annually by US Harbors.
2024 HARBORMASTER DAY SPONSORS
US Harbors is grateful to our Partner Sponsors for supporting this year's Harbormaster Appreciation Day activities.
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