Captain Mike Whitehead doesn’t just write about the sea—he’s spent a lifetime navigating it, broadcasting from it, and occasionally embellishing it.

A United States Coast Guard–licensed captain, Mike Whitehead is a nationally recognized maritime broadcaster, author, and keynote speaker with a lifelong passion for boating and waterfront culture. Known for blending real-world seamanship with storytelling that occasionally drifts just beyond the horizon of absolute truth, he has become a trusted and entertaining voice in the maritime world.

Mike’s written works include syndicated newspaper columns for the Los Angeles Times, Sea Magazine, and the Newport Beach Independent, as well as books such as VHF Marine Radio, Captain Mike’s Basic Sailing for Cat-Rigged Sailboats, and other titles that explore his adventures on the water—sometimes factual, sometimes embellished, but always entertaining.

He is best known as the host of the Boathouse TV & Radio Shows, broadcast coast to coast on major networks including FOX Sports, Comcast, Time Warner, Hawaiian TV, and Cox Cable. His radio program has aired on powerful 50,000-watt stations, including Salem Communications and the Los Angeles Angels Radio Network, reaching boating enthusiasts nationwide.

Mike is also widely recognized as the original and only announcer of the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade—one of the nation’s premier holiday events—ranked #2 in the country during his tenure, just behind Rockefeller Center and ahead of Walt Disney World. He has further lent his voice to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Holiday Parade of Lights and numerous other Southern California maritime and holiday celebrations.

When not on the airwaves or writing, Mike is often found underway along the Southern California coast. A sought-after speaker and columnist, he continues to inform, entertain, and inspire audiences with his insights on boating, maritime safety, and life on the water—cementing his reputation as both an authority in the field and a storyteller worth following.