Heath Hackett
My boating experience dates back to when I was just four years old when I would take out my family’s boat with my father. At the age of 15, I worked for a boat dealership which lasted me throughout my high school years; this is when I realized I had a strong passion for the boating industry. Once I finished my first summer in college, I got a job on a yacht which was being chartered through the Bahamas for one month. After my second year of college, I traveled to Plymouth, England to study abroad through my college’s honors international program. It was there I discovered that one could pursue marine navigation as a full degree so I extended my time in England and went on to receive my RYA Yacht Masters Certificate after a year of rigorous studies. I arrived back in Charleston and finished my studies at College of Charleston while I also got a job at the Charleston City Marina being a dockhand. My experience with helping clients enjoy their boat and keeping them on the water brought about my enthusiasm and eagerness to pursue this as a career. Year after year of experience and vigorous work lead to the start of Captains Choice Yachting and it has been thriving for 16 years ever since.