- Nick Geisz, Captain
- Jason Geisz, Tactician
Jason has been sailing since he could fit a pair of docksiders on. Started on the original Jade, a Cal 24, circa 1969 with his family in the early 80's. Spent time junior sailing at Crescent, and his claim to fame there was finishing in 2nd place in the Sears Bemis Smythe Season Championship in Division 2 with Joe Piech in a Flying Junior for all of Lake St. Clair. The following year, he got to name the FJ he skippered, "Precision," and had moderate success that year. The rest of his sailing has been mostly one design on S27.9's, J-35's, and a Beneteau 40.7. He has completed 7 Port Huron to Mackinac races, his best finish in the 2008 race on Ihnsanity, a J-120, a 4th in class and 25th overall boats (about 240). Finished Sunday at like 6pm, total time about 28 hours. Best ride yet to MAC! The year before was on a great ride, but conditions were not as good on board Crazy Horse, a Frers 50, that has since retired from the Great Lakes circuit. He is passionate about racing , and spending time on the water away from the daily grind of life. Most of his favorite stories on JADE, involve JADE loyalist Fred Mirbach and jumping halyards. Ask him about "Lunatic" sometime over a beer!!
- Erik Hakala, Jib Trimmer
While Erik has only been with the Jade crew for a year, his voracious appetite for excellence and victory has fit seamlessly with the rest of the crew. The young 26 year old upstart from Royal Oak, MI, currently resides in the beautiful bluewater town of Marysville. As long as he can remember, his summers have always been spent on Lake St. Clair, mostly around Harsen's Island, but he has found that sailing in the DYRA on Jade has really lit a fire inside him. "What
really drives me, is the continuous pursuit of excellence and victory on the water," Hakala declared. His efforts on the water have not gone unnoticed. Hakala has been contacted by many sponsors and expert sailors. Most notably, Magnus Olsson was very disappointed to hear that Hakala was unable to race with him on Ericsson 3 in the Volvo Ocean Race. "His commitment to Jade is legendary," Olsson lamented. With the spring season only a few months away, Hakala is looking forward to dominating the competition, saying, "At the end of the day,
knowing that we did our best, and that we are far better than everyone else, is really what makes a victory worthwhile." He added, "Most people don't realize that I'm so awesome." Jade will certainly be the one to watch this year.
- Fred Mirbach, Hot Box
- Cody Dawson, Main Trimmer
- Donald Cumming, Mast
