Meet the Crew
A little about the people behind RogueWave

Bernie Jakits, President

As a successful engineer in the aerospace industry, while reading sailing magazines during all those years (known as a job), I dreamed of one thing, the day I would escape my day job and sail full time…like all those reading this! I imagined creating a special kind of yacht brokerage, uniquely dedicated to blue water boats and the cruising life style. In 1998, the dream became reality. Now, years later, RogueWave Yacht Sales & Services, Inc. has helped more than 1000 sailors get into their dream boat. In fact as of January 2017, we have sold over 125 million dollars worth of boats. As an engineer, there is always a plan, a guiding light, and a destination. Now, all these years of experience have made me uniquely capable of guiding people into the right boat.

I have owned, sailed and lived aboard more than a few high quality sailing vessels. In the early 70s I owned two Catalinas, a 27 then a 30. From there it was a Westsail 32, which at that time and still today, is one of the benchmarks of a true classic blue water cruiser. In the 80s, I raised a family aboard a beautiful Norseman 447, built by Tashing, designed by Bob Perry. Later, I owned a Pacific Seacraft Crealock 34. After that, I bought my ultimate dream boat, Valiant 40, probably Perry's most well known design. Today, after having owned so many truly great boats, the Valiant 40 is still my all time favorite. In the early years of RogueWave Yacht Sales, Kate and I traded up to an amazing 2001 Hallberg-Rassy 53. Wow! That was a yacht of the highest order. We won the West Marine Bermuda Rally doing a 264 mile noon to noon run with Solstice. Then we bought the most beautiful Bristol Channel Cutter ever built, the blue one named "Indigo". She is the culmination of all the years of experience and all the miles! I have sailed all of these vessels to many foreign ports and lived aboard them while raising a family. I have disassembled every one of these vessels and put them back together again. I installed every new system, and maintained every boat properly.

These years of experience have truly made me a specialist in high caliber blue water sailing yachts. I know of no other broker who can make that statement! As a licensed & bonded professional yacht broker, please give me the pleasure of helping you define your requirements and choose your next passage making/offshore capable sailing yacht. My experience is gained from having a 100 Ton USCG Master License, having been a Marine Surveyor, a MSME Mechanical Engineer and most important by having sailed over 200,000 some offshore miles, on my own boats and delivering countless of others to about everywhere imaginable.

Sailing isn't a hobby to us, it's a lifestyle........for.......... "If a man must be obsessed with something, I suppose a boat is as good as anything, perhaps a bit better than most. A small sailing craft is not only beautiful, it is seductive and full of strange promise and the hint of trouble. If it happens to be an auxiliary cruising boat, it is without question the most compact and ingenious arrangement for living ever devised by the restless mind of man - a home that is stable without being stationary, shaped less like a box than like a fish or a girl, and in which the homeowner can remove his daily affairs as far from shore as he has the nerve to take them, close hauled or running free - parlor, bedroom and bath, suspended and alive." Reach Bernie at bernie@davidwaltersyachts.com or on his cell phone at 443-742-1792

Matt Rutherford, Adventurer, Sailor, Delivery Skipper, and Yacht Broker

Matt Rutherford is the first person in history to complete a non-stop, single-handed, voyage around North and South America in 2011-12! We are very pleased that Matt has now chosen to associate himself with RogueWave Yacht Sales. He is passionate about boats and sailing and he loves the kind of boats and people we represent here at RogueWave.

Indeed, Matt's most famous accomplishment is his successful voyage around the Americas sailing alone for the 309 days it took. Matt Rutherford left Annapolis, MD on June 2011 and traversed some of the most dangerous seas on Earth. During the first leg of his trek, he broke a record by solo sailing the smallest boat in history through the Northwest Passage. Once through this northern passage, Rutherford sailed around the entire state of Alaska then south through the Pacific Ocean from North to South America to make his left-hand turn at storm-tossed Cape Horn and completing his record breaking journey in 309 days after sailing 27,077 miles at sea. Check out the video on You Tube for a little glimpse.



After returning from such a voyage, Matt Rutherford wanted more adventure and set out to create a non-profit organization that would help scientists better understand the problems facing the oceans. In 2016 he led a team of scientists on a five month scientific voyage to the Arctic. Matt raised money for the organization and outfitted a suitable vessel for the exploration. And he went out and accomplished another amazing undertaking. You can see that Matt Rutherford is an amazing, driven individual fueled by the certainty that what one man can do, another can do.

Since his return from the Arctic, Matt has been putting his talents to work doing deliveries up and down and across oceans for clients who trust him absolutely with their amazing blue water voyaging yachts. He's taken many cruising boats to the Caribbean for their owner's enjoyment and is available to provide delivery services. He is capable, talented, energetic, and eager to be successful in his next adventure.

We are very pleased that Matt Rutherford has joined with RogueWave Yacht Sales to again put his talents, experience and expertise to work serving the sailing community. He is passionate about the oceans and the boats that sail. His desire is to help others to realize their sailing vision. The good news is that you do not have to envision a passage through the Northeast Passage to benefit from all of Matt's experience.

You can reach Matt Rutherford at matt@dwymd.net or on his cell phone at 443-254-3909.

Kate Christensen, Certified Professional Yacht Broker, and Partner

As Bernie's partner and co-owner of RogueWave Yacht Sales, I've been able to bring my expertise and my special love of traditional blue water sailing vessels. The stout seaworthy vessels of substance, charm, and character. As a woman sailor, and having owned my own boats, I bring a special perspective to all those who are like me. I truly love to help people, especially those solo sailors and women, to have the confidence to own their own boat, as I did.

Sailing is a most amazing way to spend your life. The first time I set foot on a sailboat, I fell in love. It's a special kind of love affair that will never end. For many years, I put sailing on the back burner... chartering, taking lessons, and sailing when I could, perhaps like you. During those years, I worked hard to create a successful company established on a foundation of high standards of quality and service. I can use those skills and help other people make their sailing dreams come true. RogueWave has the same spirit of honesty, integrity, and pride of service that made me successful in the past. Of course, I had to learn everything about the entire brokerage process. I immediately earned my CPYB, and I am a Certified Professional Yacht Broker!

Helping people like me become boat owners is something I love. While I've sailed many boats, cruisers and racers and small boats, my true love is a traditional blue water cruising yacht that is beautiful to look at and very satisfying to sail. This is me sailing "Aloha" my second boat, a Bristol Channel Cutter 28' a Lyle Hess-design built by Sam L. Morse in Costa Mesa, CA. To my eye, she is among the most beautiful and functional vessels in existence. I appreciate the artistry and integrity of a well made sailing vessel with traditional lines and sea kindly movement, one with a proud and proven heritage. I wanted a boat I could sail myself! And I did! I enjoy every aspect of sailing from the romance and tradition to the boats and everything about them...how they work so ingeniously, how they are built, and how they are cared for. Since 1982, I've sailed the Chesapeake Bay, the Caribbean, and the East Coast. Bernie and I have sailed many exciting places in Europe, the East Coast, Maine to the Caribbean, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Pacific Northwest and Mexico's Sea of Cortez. You’ll want to check out our exciting passages and deliveries to see all the amazing adventures. I enjoy people who share this passion. Please give me the opportunity to help guide you through this learning process. Reach Kate at kate@dywca.net or call her cell phone at 410-919-7521.

Diane Ilg, Office Manager

We are amazingly lucky to have incredible support from Diane who lived aboard and cruised on the West Coast to Hawaii, and on to finally arrive in Annapolis years later. Diane built a beautiful cruising ketch with her husband and they went cruising in the times not long ago when you had to know celestial navigation. Her sextant makes a nice office conversation piece! I know Diane was definitely admiral Ilg on the good ship Ishtar, (named Ishtar because Aphrodite wouldn’t fit on that gorgeous classic transom). Now days, Diane is quite comfortable at the helm in our beautiful office at Port Annapolis Marina. Diane has been supporting the entire yacht purchase process for over twenty years and she is skilled and experienced with all the ins and outs of boat ownership. We are so pleased that Diane is there to support all our clients through the process, buying or selling. Whether you are buying or selling, or large or small, you are in capable hands. You can reach Diane at Diane@dwymd.net or on her cell at 410-212-8064.