Wiley Sharp lives and breathes catamarans. His first experience sailing on a cruising catamaran was circa 2004 on a Leopard 47 sailing catamaran on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
He grew up on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, where he spent as much time as he could sailing. His mentor and the man who helped form the foundation for his love of sailing was his Uncle Jim. Wiley, from a young age would spend weekends on the water with his Uncle, sailing in and out of John’s Pass onboard The Badger.
In addition to time on the water with his uncle, Wiley also learned to sail dinghies at the Davis Island Yacht Club’s youth sailing program and raced J24 sailboats in college.
He had no desire to follow in the family business, so he charted his own course into the yachting world. Wiley has been professionally working in the yachting industry since he was 20 years old, and has held every position under the sun, from diesel mechanic to rigger, to customer service, operations manager, and captain. Wiley and his wife Laura have been fortunate to call places like The Bahamas, St. Vincent, Grenada, and the Virgin Islands home.
They have been based in Fort Lauderdale, the yachting capital of the world, since 2019. It was in 2021 that the duo took the plunge into starting their own business, Catamaran Central.
When not working, Wiley loves to travel with Laura. They have been fortunate to travel together across the Caribbean on catamarans, Europe by convertible, and Southern Africa by overland truck. In addition to traveling, Wiley loves the culinary arts and is particularly interested in cooking the only true form of American cuisine, BBQ. When not traveling with Laura or preparing BBQ at home Wiley is an avid fly fisherman and makes frequent trips to the mountains to fish trout. He has been fortunate to catch everything from Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout, to Redband Trout, Bull Trout, and even the elusive Zebra Trout. He is almost as comfortable in a pair of waders in a river as he is behind the helm of a catamaran.
