Capt. Jim was born in New York City in 1939 , but grew up in Hammond Indiana, a suburb of Chicago. He was the wildlife counselor at camp, and has been a lifelong naturalist, and bird and wildlife watcher.He graduated from Indiana University, in 1962 with a major in History and a minor in Theatre dispite his lifelong love of wildlife. He taught public school, mostly Drama, in Indiana, California and Washington from 1962 until 1997, when he retired from teaching.
From February to  October, Jim is "Captain Jim." He owns and captains the whale watch charter boat "Peregrine" out of Mitchell Bay. He and his wife, Carolee, also a retired teacher, built their home on San Juan Island in 1990. During the winter he continues to work on his home and makes furniture. His other interests include local theatre, photography, travel and writing. He is also a member of the San Juan Lions where he has been the chairperson for the Santa Ship for the last two years. Jim and Carolee have 4 grown children and seven grandchildren, including a set of twin boys, born in January of 1999 and latest addition Ike born in 2007.
Captain Jim is a kid-friendly captain and welcomes children and adults of any age aboard his new boat the "Peregrine". His previous boat, the Annie Mae was voted the Best Whale Watch Boat in San Juan County (see San Juan Journal article of May 30th, 2001) for the People's Choice Award. He is also the most experienced whale watch captain in the San Juans since 1989.
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