Captain Håkan Söderbom

After six years as a Seattle Sailing Club member, Håkan Söderbom (pronounced HAW-ken) is delighted to join the club’s instructor team and help others pursue their own sailing adventures.

Håkan grew up on Sweden’s Baltic Sea coast, where fishing, boating, and cold-water scuba diving fostered a lasting appreciation for the water and marine safety. He began sailing actively in the Pacific Northwest in 2020, and his curiosity soon carried him beyond Puget Sound.

Since then, he has skippered charter boats in the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Croatia, Sweden, Mexico, and Belize, including cruising catamarans up to 50 feet. His offshore experience includes passages from Seattle to San Diego (2025), Port Angeles to San Francisco (2026), and Cartagena, Colombia, through the Panama Canal to Panama City (2025).

Following a career in technology, Håkan has made sailing and teaching a new chapter. He also teaches at Lake Pleasant in Arizona and has taught in La Paz, Mexico. His instructional background includes five years as a Washington State certified motorcycle safety instructor, helping adults develop practical skills, sound judgment, and confidence.

Håkan holds a USCG OUPV captain’s license and is certified to teach ASA 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, and 114. His goal is to help students understand both how and why things work aboard a sailboat, build good seamanship habits, and enjoy the learning process, whether preparing for a first afternoon sail or a future cruising adventure.