03 —About · Meet Your Captain
Hi, I’m Captain Liz.
A North Carolina girl who fell in love with sailing.
Elizabeth Hinton
Owner & USCG-Certified Captain
Her Story
Ten years of wind, and one very lucky bay.
Captain Liz — Elizabeth Hinton — has spent more than ten years with a line in her hand and the wind on her cheek. She first learned to sail as a girl at Camp Seafarer on the North Carolina coast, and that early summer love quietly set the course for the rest of her life.
Seventeen years ago she moved west to San Diego, and the bay had her at first light. She taught herself the finer points the honest way — hours on the water, season after season, single-handing her boat up and down the Southern California coast until she knew its every current, cove and mood.
Sterling Sails grew out of a simple wish: to share that peace with other people. Today Captain Liz is a U.S. Coast Guard–certified captain and the proud owner of a woman-owned charter company, welcoming guests aboard Mojave to slow down, breathe out, and see San Diego the way it was meant to be seen — from the water.
The Long Way Round
From sailing the California coast to falling in love with San Diego Bay.
- Camp Seafarer
A girl and a small boat
Learns to sail as a child at Camp Seafarer on the North Carolina coast — the first spark of a lifelong love of the water.
- 10+ Years
A new life under sail
A decade of sailing — reading the wind and tide while enjoying the beauty of being on the water.
- Westward
San Diego calls
Finding a home on Harbor Island — the skyline, the sea lions, the Point Loma light.
- Single-handed
Just her and the coast
Sails the Southern California coast solo, learning every current and cove the honest way — one watch at a time.
- Est. 2021
Sterling Sails is born
Founds a woman-owned, USCG-certified charter company to share the peace of the water with everyone who steps aboard.
The journey really is the best part. My job is just to hand you a glass, point the bow at the sun, and let the bay do the rest.
— Captain Liz
Why Guests Come Back
What it feels like to sail with me.
Safety, quietly first
A Coast Guard–certified captain who has handled Mojave in every mood the bay has.
Genuinely warm
Guests leave feeling less like customers and more like they sailed with an old friend.
Knows every cove
Ten years of local knowledge — the best light, the best anchorages, the best stories.
The host with the details
Chilled champagne, the right playlist, the surprise bottle — she sweats the small stuff so you don’t.
Come aboard
Let’s get you out on the water.
Every sail aboard Mojave is captained personally by Captain Liz. Tell her your date and she’ll take it from there.