A dated record of instruction delivered, qualifications held, races sailed and instructors trained.
2015
Sailor qualification
RYA Youth Sailing Scheme Stage 1
Portland Sea Cadets / Portland, Dorset
Started sailing here. Stage 1 of the RYA Youth Sailing Scheme: rigging, launching and recovery, basic boat handling and the points of sail, sailed under close supervision.
Stage 2 of the Youth Sailing Scheme. Sailing a triangular course unassisted, coming alongside, and recovering from a capsize without help from the safety boat.
A skills week covering two RYA modules: symmetric spinnaker work, hoists, gybes and drops, alongside the seamanship syllabus of anchoring, towing, and coming alongside under sail.
First teaching ticket. Qualifies the holder to assist with delivery of the sailing scheme under the direct supervision of a Senior Instructor, running a group on the water but not a session in its own right.
Supervised delivery as an Assistant Instructor across two summers, following the same weekly cadet season structure in 2018 and 2019. Students are counted as uniques in my own groups rather than as centre throughput, and the figure is an estimate.
County level Sea Cadets championship, sailed in the open single-hander class. Won the fleet, which carried selection through to the area championship later that summer.
Area level Sea Cadets championship in the open single-hander class, sailed against the county winners from across the area. Finished 6th in a fleet of 16.
Raced over the 7th and 8th of September, crewing RS21 sail number 163 in the Sea Cadets one design keelboat fleet in Weymouth Bay, alongside the regatta handicap fleets. Six boats made up the class, sail numbers between 162 and 169, in the fleet's debut season. Fleet participation is documented in the Yachts and Yachting regatta report.
Filed under keelboat, rs21, sea cadets, weymouth, racing
2020
Qualification
RYA Dinghy Instructor, single-handed endorsement
Royal Yachting Association / Portland, Dorset
The full Dinghy Instructor ticket, qualifying independent delivery of the sailing scheme. Taken under covid restrictions, so the course ran single-handed only and the double handed endorsement was carried until it could be added in 2022.
First season teaching as a Dinghy Instructor. Weekly sessions through the summer, restricted to single-handed boats under the covid rules of that year, so the scheme ran to Stage 2 and no further.
Andrew Simpson Centre / Portland, Dorset / Instructor
First full-time season: beginner courses, taster sessions, kayaking and paddleboarding. The June schools programme ran groups of up to 20 twice a day, a different school each time. Counted here are only students in my own groups, roughly 800 across the schools programme and 360 across summer courses, not the site throughput of up to 120 a day across the whole coaching team.
~1,100 students
YSS1-4NSS1-3
The post
Role
Instructor
Organisation
Andrew Simpson Centre
Where
Portland, Dorset
When
Jun 2022 to Sep 2022 (4 months)
Taught
RYA Youth Sailing Scheme, Stages 1 to 4 RYA National Sailing Scheme, Levels 1 to 3
Weekly sessions through the summer across the full Youth Sailing Scheme and the seamanship skills module, run alongside the full-time season at the Andrew Simpson Centre.
Andrew Simpson Centre / Portland, Dorset / Instructor
Same programme structure as the previous year: the June schools taster programme, then summer beginner and improver courses, plus paddlesport. Counted as uniques in my own groups rather than as site throughput.
~1,100 students
YSS1-4NSS1-3
The post
Role
Instructor
Organisation
Andrew Simpson Centre
Where
Portland, Dorset
When
Jun 2023 to Aug 2023 (3 months)
Taught
RYA Youth Sailing Scheme, Stages 1 to 4 RYA National Sailing Scheme, Levels 1 to 3
Qualifies the holder to run a teaching site, set and supervise the programme, and sign off students across the practical scheme. From this point onward the work includes developing Assistant and Dinghy Instructors, which is tracked in its own ledger and never added to the student total.
Andrew Simpson Centre / Portland, Dorset / Senior Instructor
Fourth and final full season at the centre, delivering the youth scheme and the adult National Sailing Scheme across schools groups and public courses.
~1,100 students
YSS1-4NSS1-3
The post
Role
Senior Instructor
Organisation
Andrew Simpson Centre
Where
Portland, Dorset
When
Jun 2025 to Aug 2025 (3 months)
Taught
RYA Youth Sailing Scheme, Stages 1 to 4 RYA National Sailing Scheme, Levels 1 to 3
Full season, youth, adult, multihull and powerboat
Dubai Offshore Sailing Club / Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Senior Instructor
A ten month season rather than a summer one, covering the youth and adult schemes, seamanship, spinnakers, multihull and powerboat courses. The rolling student total crossed 5,000 during this season, in spring 2026.
~400 students
YSS1-4NSS1-3Seamanship SkillsSailing with SpinnakersMultihull NSSPowerboat Level 2
Filed under delivery, season, dubai, multihull, powerboat
to Instructor development
Assistant Instructor mentorship programme
Dubai Offshore Sailing Club / Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Senior Instructor
Ran the club's Assistant Instructor mentorship programme alongside the teaching season, taking candidates from the course through supervised delivery and into signed off practice. Instructors developed are held in their own bucket and never added to the student total.
RYA Powerboat Instructor with Safety Boat endorsement
Chieftain Training / Southampton, Hampshire
Qualifies delivery of the powerboat scheme to Level 2 and the safety boat course, which is the ticket that covers running rescue cover for a dinghy fleet as well as teaching it.
The course
Trained with
Chieftain Training
Where
Southampton, Hampshire
When
Aug 2025
Filed under rya, instructor, powerboat, safety boat
Qualification
RYA Multihull Instructor endorsement
Royal Yachting Association / Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Adds multihull teaching to the instructor ticket, covering the National Sailing Scheme delivered in catamarans rather than dinghies. Taken at Dubai Offshore Sailing Club during the season.
Dubai Offshore Sailing Club / Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Helm
The club's ILCA 6 fleet raced fifteen times between October and February, ten entries and three discards. Six of the fifteen were sailed and the rest scored as did not compete, which still came to sixth overall on 96 points nett, level with fifth and separated on countback. Best race of the series was a fourth.
Siglingaklúbburinn Þytur / Hafnarfjörður, Iceland / Lead Coach
Designed and delivered a bilingual English and Icelandic club training scheme from scratch, running from beginner tiers through to advanced racing. About 200 students came through the scheme and a race team of roughly 20 alongside it, with selections into the 2026 Nordic Youth Championship and national press coverage in Vísir.
~220 students
Scheme built from scratch, beginner to advanced racing tiers
Bilingual delivery, English and Icelandic
Race team of ~20, with national championship selections
Filed under delivery, iceland, lead coach, racing, season
to Instructor development
Coach development for the club scheme
Siglingaklúbburinn Þytur / Hafnarfjörður, Iceland / Lead Coach
Developed the coaching team that delivers the club scheme, roughly ten coaches, so the programme runs without me. Counted in the instructor ledger, separately from students, and never added to the student total.
Development and mentoring of Dinghy Instructors at the unit alongside the teaching block, continuing the coaching work that has run at every venue since the Senior Instructor course.
Dubai Offshore Sailing Club / Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Senior Instructor
Contracted for a second full season on the same programme, with performance sailing added once the advanced endorsement is held. Booked rather than delivered, so it sits outside the headline total and appears only in the separately labelled projected figure.
~400 students (contracted, outside the headline total)
YSS1-4NSS1-3Seamanship SkillsSailing with SpinnakersMultihull NSSPowerboat Level 2Performance Sailing, subject to endorsement
The post
Role
Senior Instructor
Organisation
Dubai Offshore Sailing Club
Where
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
When
Aug 2026 to Jun 2027 (11 months)
Status
Contracted
Taught
RYA Youth Sailing Scheme, Stages 1 to 4 RYA National Sailing Scheme, Levels 1 to 3 RYA Seamanship Skills RYA Sailing with Spinnakers RYA National Sailing Scheme, multihull RYA Powerboat Level 2 Performance Sailing, subject to endorsement
Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club / Littleborough, Greater Manchester
Booked for the 27th and 28th of August 2026. Extends the instructor ticket to advanced and performance level coaching. Listed as booked rather than held, and excluded from the qualification count, until the course is actually passed.