Meet the team

If you’ve booked one of our courses, you will undoubtedly come across Rob. He teaches courses from STCW to Yachtmaster. Rob has been teaching since 2010 and within that time he has accrued thousands of miles crossing the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Emma has been involved in the marine industry for over 25 years from water sports coaching and dinghy racing to crewing on the Cowes lifeboat. Following a 10 year career on superyachts, Emma now runs the interior training program for Flying Fish. As a qualified teacher and ex-Chief Stewardess, Emma will guide you through the skills required to enable you to confidently begin your yachting career as a Steward/ess.

Sarah started her career as a watersports instructor before finding her passion in yachting. Sarah worked in industry for 4 years where she progressed to the position of Second Stew on a 32m motor yacht. She joined our team in 2023 and is a great asset to our superyacht stew course, where she teaches the intricacies of all the daily duties of a stew. When not teaching, Sarah is in the office, chatting to aspiring yachties who are looking to book a course with us. She is also one of our fabulous CV mentors.

George joined the team in 2023 as our Deckhand Instructor. Previously he had worked on superyachts starting off as a deckhand working his way up from Lead Deckhand to Bosun on vessels ranging from 50-90+m. During this time, he achieved his Yachtmaster offshore, EDH, celestial navigations and many more modules, aiming towards Officer Of The Watch 3000gt for yachts. If you’re on our Deckhand course he is a face you’ll see quite often.

Angus has been involved in sailing and boating for over thirty years. Starting in sailing dinghies and small powerboats, his experience encompasses many types of power and sailing vessels throughout Europe. Angus started Powerboat training in 2001 and has since been clocking up in excess of 2000 training, skippering and delivery hours per year covering thousands of sea miles annually.

Clive joined Flying Fish after a long career flying fast jets in the Royal Air Force.  He started sailing and racing dinghies and yachts, moving to powerboats 25 years ago. He has been an RYA instructor since 2004 and is qualified to teach Radio, Radar, Navigation and Advanced Powerboat Courses.  His specialities are navigation and weather, and you will mainly find him teaching Yachtmaster Shorebased and VHF courses… although he still loves getting on the water to teach Powerboating.

Ian has been teaching in the maritime industry for 15 years.  He joined the Flying Fish Team in January 2022 as an instructor.  Ian brings a wide range of experience to the classroom following service in the Royal Navy and working as an Operations Manager for a shipping company based on the Island.  He primarily teaches our STCW courses so you may see him during your stay!

Chris is a Captain on a superyacht, so is often busy travelling the Mediterranean. In 2001, he completed a Flying Fish Course in Australia, then stayed to teach for 5 years, before becoming a deckhand on a superyacht. Chris missed sailing, so spent a year skipping a yacht in the Clipper Round the World Race. Next he returned to superyachts, working his way up to Captain. Chris is a very busy man, but enjoys teaching at Flying Fish when his rota allows, helping to inspire our customers.

Paul started his maritime career in 2006, with experience up to and including taking command on passenger ships, container ships, offshore support vessels and superyachts. Paul joining Flying Fish in January 2021, teaching STCW, Powerboat and Seamanship.  He also sails as Captain aboard the RedJet High speed ferries to and from the Isle of Wight. He may well be the one to drive you to your course at Flying Fish!

Sarah joined Flying Fish in 2009 but has been a First Aid trainer since 2004 when she began teaching the subject to the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service. Since then she has spent a number of years teaching First Aid to children under 11 years old and has been part of a team that went into high schools to highlight the importance of road safety and the consequences of road traffic collisions.

Luke’s love for water sports began at the age of 12 and soon developed a passion for instructing. He became a sailing and powerboating instructor at the age of 16, using his skills to help others get on the water. Since then, he has devoted himself to instructing and has been involved in career development courses since 2009. He understands that training someone for a new career in the maritime industry requires more than just teaching practical skills; it also involves developing the necessary soft skills. As the Operation Manager, he utilizes his skills and passion to develop the team that trains you, creates all the resources, and checks in on your progress. Luke also works for the RYA, running several instructor courses and is always eager to answer any questions you may have about your new career. When you see Luke he always wants to know how the course is going and if you have any questions about your new career.

Heidi has been with Flying Fish for an impressive 25 years. Heidi runs our Seafarers Tax Service, helping yacht crew to claim the seafarers tax deduction scheme. If you’re joining us for a course you’ll probably be welcomed by Heidi on arrival day!

Mishel grew up in Italy where she perfected the art of coffee. She initially joined the team in 2022 as our barista instructor, but we quickly invited her to join the office team full time. As well as her coffee sessions, Mishel now runs operations alongside Luke and social media with Sasha.

Sasha joined the team in 2021, where she initially worked in sales before taking on the social media and marketing. You may catch Sasha on the phone but it’s more likely you will have seen her content on Instagram and TikTok. Sasha comes from a recruitment background, which she applies during CV mentorship.