Captain Robert Reeder began his seafaring career navigating US Navy submarines during the Cold War, specializing in conventional terrestrial and celestial navigation. Much of his naval career was at Port Canaveral FL for ballistic missile testing and telemetry, and was at Canaveral for multiple Space Shuttle launches and landings. It was here that Robert learned his passion for astronomy, rocketry and space-flight. Robert's last and longest submarine voyage was from Holy Loch Scotland to Bangor WA via the Panama Canal, and he has made the Seattle area his home ever since.

His first sailboat voyage was from Seattle to San Francisco in 1991, using dead reckoning, celestial navigation, and occasional not-yet-fully-operational GPS. He has sailed ever since, and his sailboat Serenity is his pride and joy.

As a commercial mariner, Captain Reeder has worked on container ships, tankers, tug boats, passenger vessels, and pretty much everything else. He holds a 1600 ton Master's license, and continues to drive high-speed passenger ferries between the US and Canada.

Robert became a US Navy instructor in 1990, teaching navigation and ship-tactics at Trident Training Facility in Bangor WA. Later, as a civilian, he taught for Starpath School of Navigation, MITAGS, and many other maritime schools, before finally arriving at Seattle Maritime Academy. Captain Reeder teaches all of the Deck Department classes at SMA, and enjoys teaching Navigation and Meteorology classes the most.

Robert currently lives in Seattle with his wife, two youngest kids, three cats, and five hens.