International Association of Maritime Institutions BoD
Maritime Hospitality Sub Group & GUEST Program Director
I am honoured to have been put up for this award (again), grateful to Acrew for the opportunity, & more than
anything indebted to those who have supported & influenced such a large part of my journey over the years.
Having dedicated 3.5 decades of my life (so far) to a career in “maritime education & training development”,
representing yacht crew, and I can hand on heart say that I have absolutely loved my journey.
How lucky am I to have been able to put my professional expertise to good use while following my passions,
from pioneering training development programs to influencing policy makers on behalf of yacht crew, while
working alongside some of the most experienced & likeminded souls, AND making a difference with
supporting so many thousands of yacht crew careers along the way.
I started out as a keen regatta racer, whilst managing a UK based RYA Training School for 10 years in the 90’,
before being headhunted by Freedom Yachting to oversee the training department in Antibes, where I settled
in the South of France, and set up my own business ASKJOEY. For 13 enjoyable years I was committed to
supporting yacht crew career paths and facilitating a much needed “advisory” platform, where my extensive
experience not only grew, but also enabled my offering unbiased guidance to countless crew trying to
navigate their yachting careers.
Alongside ASKJOEY, I spent 15 years volunteering at the PYA as Director of Training Development &
Certification. Building and reinforcing strong sector alliances with the regulators and authorities, such as the
MCA Yacht Qualification Panel representing Deck & Tech crew training, while being instrumental in initiating
training development projects like the RYA PWC Scheme, the Yacht Rating Certificate, the MCA Ships Cook
Assessment and the IAMI GUEST Program Guidelines for Unified Excellence in Superyacht Training. (To
name a few).
By January 2019 I was appointed onto the International Association of Maritime Institutions Board of
Directors, (IAMI) as well as administrator to the IAMI Maritime Hospitality Sub Group & Director of the GUEST
Program.
Having always felt strongly that the frontline to the yachting sector starts and ends with the crew, and that it is
the responsibility of those, like myself, to capture the demand and turn words into positive action, I have
dedicated much of my working life to exploring gaps in mandatory training and developing training
opportunities that I believe not only empower HoDs & individuals, but also provides the yachting sector with
the right training platforms to deliver the fundamental skills that better support the sustainability of yacht crew
careers within the sector.
I love a success story, and as the founder of the GUEST Program I am thrilled that our industry has proven it
can collectively create, adopt and self-regulate bespoke training that meets the end users demands & at the
same time inspires thousands of yacht crew worldwide. I will continue to be wholly committed to the
development and safeguarding of the GUEST Program, ensuring standards are upheld as well as the value of
crew training investments for the future.
I thoroughly enjoy been a regular face on the numerous yachting panels, seminars and worldwide yachting
events, as well as hosting a few of my own. I relish any opportunity to engage with heads of industry and
training provisions, whilst representing the yacht crew I am so passionate about supporting, and I look forward
to the next chapter of events, and to meeting new and old colleagues and friends along the way.
Finally – a big huge thanks to whoever put my name forward, I am flattered and accept on behalf of
myself and those who have influenced & shard my journey .. you know who you are.
