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Background

Carol grew up in Camas, Washington in a family of six that valued education, nature's beauty, community involvement, and a sense of humor. After attending the University of Puget Sound on an academic scholarship, she left school to pursue her interest in sailing and seeing the world. Her first long voyage was to the South Pacific in 1972, on which she served as celestial navigator. 

 

She arrived in Port Townsend in 1975 and knew she’d found her home. Three years later she launched her own business, Port Townsend Sails, where she built an international reputation for quality, handmade cruising sails. She retired in 2021 after forty-three years as a leader in the region's thriving maritime industry where she employed, on average, a team of ten craftspeople.   

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Leadership

Hasse has served served as a Commissioner for the Port of Port Townsend since 2022. In launching her reelection campaign, Carol points to four years of progress at the Port: “We're steering the course Jefferson County voters set for us. We’re restoring and improving Port infrastructure. We’re increasing recreational and educational access and opportunities. We’re supporting the economic engine of our maritime community. And with fellow elected officials, tribal leaders and community stakeholders, we’re determining strategies for climate-change resilience and disaster preparedness. With your vote, I can continue this work.”

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Carol is a co-founder of both Port Townsend’s Wooden Boat Festival and Wooden Boat Foundation, and she served on the Foundation’s board for 28 years. Carol played key roles on the boards of the Northwest School for Wooden Boat Building, Sound Experience (the non-profit organization of the National Historic Landmark schooner Adventuress), and the Northwest Maritime Center.

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Expertise

Hasse has captained on some 5,000 nautical miles of sail training. She earned the US Coast Guard's 100-ton, Near-Coastal Master License with sail endorsement. And she is certified as instructor of US Sailing’s Safety at Sea course in Northwest and US Naval Academy classrooms. Carol is a sailing-skills lecturer, curricula author, and regular contributor to maritime journals.

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​​Commitment to the Community

Throughout her career, Hasse has given freely of her time to expand

access to sailing and spread knowledge of traditional maritime skills.

Carol washonored with the Wooden Boat Festival Lifetime-Achievement

Award, and in 2021 she was named Citizen of the Year by the Jefferson

County Chamber of Commerce.

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