Welcome Aboard, New Employees - March 2020

Bora Gulari
Chad Hough
Mark Mansfield
Mark Welsh

Samantha Webster
Wally Cross
Zane Yoder

Bora Gulari

Sail Consultant & Designer
Detroit, MI
bgulari@quantumsails.com
313-930-1612

Bora Gulari started windsurfing when he was only four years old because his parents both surfed and he wanted to join them. While Bora was working on his degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, he would often make jabs at the bartender of the hotel he worked at that windsufing was better than sailing. Eventually, Bora was invited to go boat racing.

"I loved it," said Bora. "I became obsessed."

Bora followed that obsession to two Moth World Championships and a 2009 US Sailing Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award. In 2016 he was invited to join Quantum Racing for the 2017 season. Bora is currently very active in many one design classes including the Moth and Melges 24. He brings incredible sailing and design experience to the Quantum team. In collaboration with lofts in Traverse City and Muskegon, MI, Bora is uniquely positioned to assist the Great Lakes sailor.

Chad Hough 

Sail Consultant
Muskegon, MI
chough@quantumsails.com
619-808-2423

Chadwick jumped on his first sailboat at age three and has never stopped following his passion. He chose to pursue a career in various aspects of the sailing world for the past 25 years, most recently landing him as a member of the Quantum team, racing professionally and working with the team to develop programs in racing and cruising on both coasts and the Great Lakes.

Chadwick grew up in Michigan, sailing scows on Spring Lake. As a young boy, he crewed for parents, sailed his own boats, and won the Butterfly National Championships when he was 12 years old. Sailing continued through college, where he led the sailing team at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. After college, Chadwick moved west to pursue ski racing in the winter and the Inland Lake Yachting Association and Western Michigan Yachting Association scow circuits in the summer. In the mid-90s, he began working for sailboat manufacturer Johnson Boat Works in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, racing and selling scows.

Chadwick then set his sights on the Olympics, and he left Johnson Boat Works to race in the 49er class. He made the U.S. sailing team for three years, but he eventually lost during the Olympic trials. Immediately following his Olympic campaign, Chadwick was offered a job with North Sails in 2000. For nearly 20 years, Hough worked at North Sails in many capacities, from one-design and service manager to big boat salesperson, loft manager, and sailing professional.

Chadwick's professional sailing experience is extensive. Among his career highlights to date: seven Transpacific Yacht races, three Pacific Cups, six Chicago-to-Mackinac races, second overall in the Cape Town-to-Rio race, and a Top 5 placement in three Etchell World Championships. Chadwick has also had success in one-design classes as well as big boat offshore racing.

Chadwick brings to Quantum a unique skill set for helping sailors get the optimal performance out of their boats, from setting the rig tune-up on high-end race boats to applying techniques for the cruising sector. When Chadwick is not racing professionally, he enjoys racing various scows with his teenage son and daughter. When he isn't sailing, Chadwick enjoys the outdoor winter activities Michigan has to offer. Chadwick's well-rounded background in customer service and sales and loft management, along with his lifelong passion for racing and sailmaking, are assets he brings to Quantum as a valuable member of the team.

Mark Mansfield

Sail Consultant 
Cork & Dublin, Ireland
mmansfield@quantumsails.com
00353 87 250 6838

As Mark Mansfield mulled his options after retiring from a career in banking, he knew he wanted a direction that put his passion for sailing first. A four-time Olympian (in Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, and Athens) in the Star keelboat, Mark also notched a win in the Star Europeans and a third place in the Star Worlds. He has also won National and European honours in Royal Cork's own 1720 sportsboat class. When it comes to his credentials, Mark's results in the speed arena are first-rate.

In 2005, Mark returned to big boats. He'd helmed a series of Admiral's Cups in the 1980s and took the helm of the unforgettable Jump Juice in the Commodore's Cup.

Switching to Sailing Class One in recent years, Mark had found his calling as a title-winning tactician on boats such as Joker 2, Big Picture (Half Tonner), and Anchor Challenge (Quarter Tonner), as well a middleman in the Etchells and Dragon class. He's also produced results offshore, winning in class in the 2016 Round Ireland Race.

Mark has spent the last five years coaching and sailing professionally. He also works as an agent for J Boats, Grand Soleil Yachts, and Nautitech Catamarans in Ireland and offers a unique blend of sailing, coaching, and rigging experience. Mark, along with Yannick Lemonnier and Quantum Sails Ireland, are uniquely positioned to support Irish sailing communities across the country.

Mark Welsh

Sail Consultant 
St Michaels, MD
mwelsh@quantumsails.com
610-405-9229

Mark D. Welsh (MDW as friends refer to him) has joined the Quantum Sails team as a sail consultant based on the Chesapeake Bay's beautiful eastern shore. Mark has been sailing since college, and, after a successful corporate career, had the opportunity to follow his passion for sailing and turn his hobby into a new career with Quantum. In addition to working with Quantum clients to address their challenges, Mark is active in the local community and is on the water every chance he gets. Mark believes in giving back; he is a member of the St. Michaels Waterways Commission and volunteers for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. As a charter boat captain running day-sails out of St. Michaels Harbor, Captain Mark enjoys interacting with his guests and relishes his time at the helm of some of the most beautiful yachts on the bay. MDW occupies his free time in the Caribbean on his Lagoon 42 catamaran, cruising the east coast with friends, and relaxing with his family on Kiawah Island, SC.

Mark's unparalleled commitment to customer service aligns perfectly with Quantum's commitment to "make your challenges our own." Like all our sail consultants, Mark is a loyal advisor, partnering with clients by providing expert consultation while guiding them through choices of sail materials and hardware, construction options, and sail handling systems. When clients have more complex challenges, Mark leverages his corporate experience leading global teams to pull together a crew of top industry experts within Quantum to deliver solutions that meet the customer's unique challenge. Big or small job, MDW delivers consistent service and believes firmly that regardless of the size or complexity of his customers' challenges, they deserve the unparalleled service for which Quantum is known.

Samantha Webster 

Sail Consultant
Toronto, Canada
swebster@quantumsails.com
647-781-2427

Growing up in Toronto, Sam started sailing at the age of nine and began racing at the age of 13. She spent much of her childhood racing competitively in Laser II's and Bytes at her home club, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.

Sam went on to campaign the Yngling on the International Circuit for three years as part of the Canadian National Team. After her campaign, she got more involved in offshore sailing and racing. Sam's pursuit for offshore experience led her to complete a Sydney to Hobart race and Transatlantic race; she placed first in their division for the Transat. Sam currently spends the majority of her time racing in one-design fleets such as J/24, J/22, J/80, and J/70 and match-racing in Sonars.

In addition to her sailing accomplishments, Sam has 20 years of experience coaching and developing programs at different yacht clubs around the world, including Royal Canadian YC, Middle Harbour YC (AUS), US Sailing Center (Jensen Beach), San Diego YC, Royal Newfoundland YC, and Watch Hill YC (RI). She has coached all different levels, from beginners to provincial/state and national teams. Sam has also been on the other side of racing, running multiple regattas and acting as race manager and/or PRO to provincial and national championships.

Wally Cross

Sail Consultant 
Grosse Pointe, MI
wcross@quantumsails.com
586-596-8854

Wally started building sails in 1973 to pay for college, and over the years has had the opportunity to work with seven different sail making companies before joining Quantum.

During his years in the sailing business, Wally has raced many types of small boats, as well as sailing the Flying Dutchman in the 1980 Olympic Trials. He was involved with the winning boats in many national championships before shifting his focus to offshore one design boats. He's participated in six Canada Cups, 25 Key West racing events, over 40 Mackinac races, and hundreds of traveling regattas. Today, Wally spends his time racing a variety of boats, including large offshore boats, the Melges 20, Melges 24, and Melges 32 classes, and local offshore one designs, like the J/111 and Beneteau 36.7.

Wally enjoys mixing his sail making knowledge with all the other pieces of sailing, such as rig, trim, and sail settings, to not only make the boats sail faster, but to help people get the most enjoyment from their boats.

Zane Yoder

Sail Consultant
Mobile, AL
zyoder@quantumsails.com
251-709-1438

Zane Yoder grew up sailing in a baby seat in an O'day Widgeon. At the age of seven, he began racing Sunfish. Once he was hooked, he started racing various boats in the Gulf Yachting Association. His primary focus was one design, but he raced lots of PHRF as well. "My father was an avid racer and he owned and raced lots of different boats, which allowed me to learn from him and some of the best the south had to offer."

Zane's love for the sport grew as he embarked on some major sailing adventures. "I sailed on a Bargue rigged tallship around the world, which included Cape Horn at age 16." Shortly after, he became a member of Team LYRA, a dominant youth racing program. Joining the youth team lead him to become a top Laser sailor and earn a bid for the 1996 Olympics.

Not long after the 96 trials he shifted his focus to 35-75ft boats. He sailed and managed boats for the next 15 years. He raced everything from Melges 24 to Andrews 73 and everything in between. In any given year he would race on 20 different boats. "This made being specialized in any boat difficult, but made me a much better all around sailor." Zane has also been a sailing coach for most of his life, coaching several athletes that have gone on to win College sailor of the year, and US Sailing Team Honors.