FACULTY
Jacob Greiner
Wooden Boat Building Instructor
Jake Greiner ‘10 is a Wooden Boat Building Instructor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Skidmore College. Like many recent college graduates, he had no idea what to do next! Jake had grown up sailing, loved boats, and enjoyed working with his hands, so he enrolled at The Landing School and holds certificates from the Wooden Boat Building and Yacht Design programs. Before teaching at TLS, Jake worked in the Marine Industry at several well-respected companies and boat shops. He worked at Hall’s Boat Corporation on Lake George, NY, with notable work on the restoration of an 1899 Elco electric launch and a 1926 Charles Mower-designed Long Island Sound Interclub, and Tumblehome Boat Shop, where he worked on many award-winning restorations of powerboats and sailboats, including a 1916 Fay & Bowen torpedo stern launch, a 1926 Fay & Bowen Junior runabout, and two more 1926 Long Island Sound Interclubs. Jake returned to The Landing School with over a decade of wooden boat building and restoration experience and is excited to share his knowledge and experience with the next generation of boatbuilders!
Nick Patey
Composites and Systems Program Instructor
Nicholas Patey ’14 is a Composite Boat Building and Marine Systems Instructor. He holds an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science in Marine Industry Technology. He Is a Master ABYC Technician with certifications in Diesel, Electric, and Marine Systems and Standards. He began working at The Landing School in 2016 and has worked at the school since in both a full time and part time capacity. Nicholas grew up on the water and started work in the charter trade at a young age. He has worked along the coast of New England in the capacity of Deckhand, Mate, Engineer and Captain. He has also worked in the sail training in the capacity of Captain, teaching middle, high school, and college students to operate traditional sailing vessels. Nick has also worked independently as a marine technician and surveyor and has been involved in multiple restoration projects as a contractor.
Duane Branch
Duane Branch ‘89 is a Senior Yacht Design Instructor. He began working at The Landing School in 2020. He is a TLS graduate of the Yacht Design program. Duane received a degree in Electrical Engineering and worked in this field for years before going back to school. After graduating from TLS, Duane spent another year as a teaching assistant under Chuck Burns and was hired as a designer and engineer at Gold Coast Yachts in St Croix USVI. Gold Coast designs and builds multihull vessels mostly for the day charter trade, but they also designed some cruising catamarans and trimarans. While in the Virgin Islands, he also got his US Coast Guard 50-ton license and worked in sailing instruction, day charter, term charter, deliveries, and water taxis. He was even lucky enough to run some of the vessels he helped design and build. In 1997 he started his own yacht design company. Later on he moved to New England and worked as a design engineer at Goetz Custom, Pearson Composites, and New England Boatworks. Duane has presented three times at the International Boatbuilder Exhibition. When not working you will find him working on his own boats and on the water sailing!
Roland Saucier
Roland Saucier ’95 & ‘96 is a Yacht Design Instructor. He received an associate degree from The Landing School upon completion of the Wooden Boat Building and Yacht Design Programs. Roland comes to TLS with over 25 years of Design and Construction experience. He spent 15 years working in Europe on a variety of projects including America’s Cup Challenge by Team Germany. He has worked in offices in Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. Before moving to Europe, Roland worked on projects including, The Schooner Amistad for Tri-Coastal Marine and a 48m Superyacht for Pedrick Yacht Designs. His experience as a Wooden Boat Builder should also be mentioned having worked in Camden, Maine on the restoration of the 8m Class yacht Angelita. Roland is happy to be back home in Maine after so many years in Europe. He loves to spend time exploring the forests here.
Zachary Volpicelli
Zachary Volpicelli ’04 is our Boatyard Management Program Instructor and a mentor for first- and second-year Marine Systems and Boatyard Management Students. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bennington College, a Diploma in Marine Systems from The Landing School, a USCG Captains License, and is ABYC certified in Propulsion, AC & DC Electrical, Refrigeration & Corrosion. He brings a wealth of knowledge to his role having worked in all aspects of Marine Engineering and Boatyard Operations. Before attending the Landing School as a student in 2003, he had a career in the IT industry as a Networks and Systems Administrator, Web Designer and Programmer at Brandeis University. After graduating TLS, Zachary moved to the Pacific Northwest and worked as an Operations Manager for one of the largest boatyards in the Seattle area. After his years in the PNW he moved back to New England to be near family and helped run a small boat yard on Nantucket Sound. Growing up on Cape Cod, Zachary has spent a significant amount of time exploring New England by water and before attending The Landing School in ‘03, he and his wife took a year off and sailed across the Pacific Ocean from California to the Hawaiian Islands. In addition to boating in New England he has spent time exploring the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest as well as occasional forays to Alaska. Zachary lives on Cape Cod with his wife Tabitha.
Addison Harper
Addison Harper ’23 is a Marine Systems Instructor. He is a recent graduate of The Landing School Yacht Design program. He brings professional skills from the field and personal experience as a TLS student, which helps our shop and classroom to support our students' successes. Prior to joining The Landing School community, he worked for 6 years in a myriad of roles in boat building, marine systems, and composites. Addison began at Boston BoatWorks building and installing systems on semi-custom yachts. From there he transitioned to Courageous Sailing Center in Boston Harbor where he was responsible for maintaining a 60+ boat fleet consisting of both sail and power boats. He also worked at Birch Marine, providing mobile marine service at various marinas throughout the Boston Harbor. Notably, he rebuilt four Rhodes 19 sailboats, which gave him a platform to solidify his experience with composites. Addison is an experienced sailor with 20,000 nautical miles under his belt. From competing at the international and national level of one design racing to participating in various offshore regattas, he is always ready to get back out on the water! A favorite accomplishment was competing in a Transatlantic race in 2019. When not on the water racing, you’ll find him enjoying the outdoors in other ways, primarily snowboarding and fishing!
Jim Cumiskey