Lee Fleischer

As a youngster, Lee grew up in a boating family in New England and was always in love with the sea and the outdoors. His favorite past time is exploring new places by water; and he loves sharing his experiences on the waterways of the eastern Pacific Ocean.  When not sailing with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, he serves as a captain aboard a high-speed catamaran providing transportation for visitors to and from the Channel Islands National Park in California.

After graduating with an engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and master’s in business from Boston University, and a stint in the U.S. Air Force; Lee succumbed to a decades-long business career in management.  He finally got his priorities straight and returned to his true love – the sea.  After sailing on the Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean, Mississippi River, Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, and Inside Passage, Lee finally transplanted himself to the Santa Barbara Channel area that he now calls home.  He was a founding board member of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum in Santa Barbara, California and served as the new museum’s Executive Director.  

He is a certified member of the volunteer Naturalist Corps of the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary and National Park, providing interpretation for passengers about marine mammals and other species aboard whale watching boats in the Sanctuary.  He is also a University of Alaska certified Alaska Naturalist. 

Lee never ceases to be amazed by the persistence of nature, its beauty in all of its forms and the connectivity of all things in the natural world.