A few years ago I posted a job for a relief skippers position for St Hilda Sea Adventures skippering Sea Horse II for charters around the West coast of Scotland. Peter took the position and we have since become friends.



He has a fascinating career starting in dinghies in Ireland as a kid, and then participating in two Whitbread round the world races, before skippering the legendary ‘War Baby’ for Warren Brown down to the Antarctic.



Then following an introduction by Ed Dubois he worked for the same owner for 17 years running his 100ft sailing yacht. Today he works as a relief captain and whilst we recorded this was in lockdown aboard a 43mtr sailing yacht ‘Sea Eagle I’ that he is running in Palma.



It was a great opportunity to hear some of his background and story and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!




Equity and Law



The Card



War Baby



Timoneer



Sea Horse II



Sea Eagle I
Some of Peter Metcalfes previous commands

A few years ago I met James, whilst I was working with Hebrides Cruises. He struck me immediately as one of those calm, experienced skippers who you know has been around boats their whole life.



Today I chatted with him about his boating life and his love for the wildlife of Scotland. We also discovered that we were inspired by some of the same people and that he has worked on some cool boats!



He now works as a skipper for Hebrides Cruises in the summer and runs his own sea school in the winter, instructing Yachtmasters Hebridean Sea School.



I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did recording it!



Cameron







Emma JaneElizabeth GTobermory Severn LifeboatJi FungBold Ranger

Mark and I have been friends for many years and we now live fairly close to one another on the West Coast of Scotland where he is the minister of Campbeltown Baptist Church.



He has had a fascinating career in yachts and the navy, culminating in running a 60mtr Feadship in the Med and it is a pleasure to have him share a bit of his life at sea here on the podcast.



We recorded this podcast over Skype, due to COVID 19 and had a few sound problems, so I had to re-record a few of my questions and piece it together, anyway, we got there in the end!



I am sure you will enjoy hearing Mark’s story as much as I enjoyed editing it and if the conversation about his faith at the end gets you thinking, please don’t hesitate to email or call me, I’d love to chat.



From left to right: Lizzie, Mark their daughter Hannah Molly and Abi and I in 2018



Anna ChristinaKingdom ComeGenevieve ChallengeJust a few of the yachts that Mark has skippered over the years.



Music: Rodney Skopes by Blue Dot Sessions

The last few months have been crazy busy! at one stage I counted how many flights, car rentals and AirBnB’s we had used, then I lost count again…



So here is a quick update sharing what I have been up to by way of an explanation for the lack of episodes!



But there are more to come, I just can’t promise to release them on a weekly / monthly basis at this stage.



In this update I talk about our yacht in Greece, a boat I looked after in Mallorca for Horizon, Elizabeth G a converted rescue ship, a new project in the pipeline and our house in Scotland, so here are pics to accompany the stories.



Our little boatElizabeth GHorizon RP110The new project…Our home in Scotland



Thanks for sticking around! Fair winds and flat seas 🙂

Originally from Romania, Calin decided to trade in a degree in psychology for a life at sea twenty years ago. Today he is a rotational captain on a 37mtr Benetti and together with his fiancee Sonia Doucet owns a cruising yacht which they cruise in their downtime.



We recorded this interview whilst he was home visiting family in Romania and I was in Mallorca. Calin has a wide experience which include crossings of the Pacific & Atlantic oceans as well as exploring parts of the Tasman, Caribbean, Mediterranean, North, Norwegian and Barents seas.



From left to right / Cameron, Sonia, Calin and Abi, on Seabelle in Scotland 2018



He has worked on a wide range of yachts, some of which you can see in the gallery below.



La MiragePegasusSarahAmeviLady LaraPrincess IlukaPure Bliss – current commandSeabelle / Calin and Sonias own yacht in the Arctic



Music: Rodney Skopes by Blue Dot Sessions

Today I’m joined by Ron Boogaard. Ron is a yacht broker that I’ve known since 2010 We met whilst I was running a 41mtr Tri deck motor yacht built by Premier, one of the Horizon yards.Ron is the owner and manager of Horizon Yacht Europe which he runs with his wife, Ruth.They are the representatives for the Horizon brand throughout Europe and have two offices here in Mallorca.We recorded this interview in the pilothouse of one of their yachts a new, 110ft raised pilothouse model which I am looking after for them until the right buyer comes along.Horizon have sold literally hundreds of yachts in this part of the world so it’s fascinating speaking to Ron who has been at the forefront, not just of the sales process, but even to the extent of coming up with concepts and sketching designs for some of the yachts. I have delivered various Horizon yachts throughout the med, so have got to know the brand and Ron quite well.



Ron´s first yacht sale was a Princess similar to this, rather different from the yachts of today.





This is one of the new FD range that Ron talks about.




https://youtu.be/Axj9-vx5C2A
One of my deliveries of an Elegance to Croatia, with Ricardo from Episode 1




https://youtu.be/YidLpNml-Jg
One of my deliveries of an Elegance to Croatia



Contact Ron Boogaard via: www.HorizonYachtEurope.com



Music: Rodney Skopes by Blue Dot Sessions

Ricardo Diniz is a Super Yacht Captain, Solo Sailor, Entrepreneur and also one of my best friends!



We have sailed together on numerous boats, in various locations and have worked both for and with each other.Ricardo promotes Portugal through various projects often involving solo sailing or racing.He is one of my best friends and will definitely be back on the podcast.



We have had too many adventures together to squeeze into one episode, so for now, this is an introduction to Ricardo and his career so far.



Learn more about Ricardo on his website: www.RicardoDiniz.com







Music: Rodney Skopes by Blue Dot Sessions

This is the start of a regular series of interviews with Captains and Industry Professionals.



Welcome to the YourSkipper Podcast and thanks for taking a moment to download this, the introduction to my new show! I’m very excited to be launching this podcast, I have thought about it for at least a year so it’s great to finally be getting started!



Working aboard SuperYachts, Charter boats and Private yachts around the world I often meet really interesting people, with great stories, so I thought I would take a bit of time and effort to record some of them to share with you.



As I record this my wife and I are in Mallorca, where I started work about a month ago, looking after a 110ft brand new motor yacht that is for sale.This was a real answer to prayer and came at just the right moment!Sometimes people ask “so what do you do all day, if the boat is brand new?” Well, trust me there are so many systems on a yacht like this there is always something to configure / maintain / operate / clean or polish!



So anyway, back to the show, my plan is to launch an episode every fortnight or so for the first series.I have some great interviews lined up, with captains, industry professionals and friends, so please make sure you are subscribed in your podcast app and if you have a moment spread the word, there’s a new kid on the podcasting block!



I’d love to hear the kind of things you are interested in hearing from my interviews or any other feedback, so if you have a moment head over to my website or facebook page facebook.com/yourskipper and drop me a note.



Thats all for now, I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and please make sure you have subscribed if you want to receive each episode as it comes out!



Until next time Fair winds and Flat seas!







Music: Rodney Skopes by Blue Dot Sessions