Captain of the Small Ship M/V David B
Jeffrey, Captain of the David B
Captain Jeffrey Smith learned to sail as a child. In 1990, after discovering that one could actually be paid for working on boats, he moved to New England and began a career of it. He worked his way up to a captain position in the world of tall ships and adventure vacations, then moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1995, where he drove various power vessels. His jobs took him throughout Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, up Canada’s Inside Passage, and to Alaska. During the winter outfitting seasons, he developed skills in all aspects of wooden boat restoration.
After years of taking passengers on both one-day cruises and longer trips, Captain Jeffrey found he preferred a more intimate setting where guests would feel more relaxed. If orca whales or interesting birds were spotted, he wanted the freedom to pause and enjoy watching them, with no pressure to hurry on and arrive at a destination on a certain schedule. So in 1998, he and Christine Smith began restoring the M/V David B to bring their concept of luxury, small ship cruising to others.
Captain Jeffrey loves teaching about anything mechanical, and would love to show you the charts and explain how the David B’s GPS navigational system works. After thousands of hours on the waters of the Pacific Northwest, he is adept at spotting wildlife and has become somewhat of a naturalist.
He’d love to meet you on your next trip on the David B.
ON JUNE 16, 2006, the David B left Bellingham, Washington bound for Juneau, Alaska, on her maiden voyage as a passenger vessel. Eight years earlier, Christine and Jeffrey had found the David B tucked behind a breakwater on Lopez Island. The tired old wooden boat, built in 1929, was showing her age. When the young couple stepped aboard the neglected vessel, her sturdy work-boat style captured their hearts with an ageless beauty that only the young dreamers could see... 
