our instructors

Tighnabruaich Sailing School instructors live and work very closely together for the summer season, so it is no surprise they end up a very close-knit group who remain friends for life. Hundreds of young people have moved through the ranks from ‘keen young instructor’ to senior instructor on the water since the inception of the sailing school in the 1960’s.

Historically, instructors would stay with Robin either in his house or in a tiny caravan in his garden. The overflow of instructors would stay at the Youth Hostel. When Derek and Fiona moved the sailing school to Carry Farm, instructor’s stayed in larger static caravans on site. During the past ten years, most of our instructors have been ‘home-grown’ and hence live at Carry Farm. It does of course result in the morning instructor briefing mostly taking place over breakfast! The instructors have all trained at Tighnabruaich Sailing School and are well briefed on the standard of care expected of them.  The loyal team have years of experience of delivering excellence and as a result of many being brought up in the area, have an in depth knowledge of the environment they work in.

Derek is of course the boss on the water, but here is a quick introduction to his team of fantastic instructors.

Oscar, Derek’s son, is from Tighnabruaich and has been afloat from a very young age! He has instructed at the school for 9 years, starting as an assistant instructor before gaining his RYA qualifcations. He studied Naval Architecture at Strathclyde University for a couple of years before leaving for exciting new times. Oscar is a very keen yacht racer and spends most weekends racing in the Clyde or further afield in the RC35 class.

Theo, Oscar’s younger brother, was also brought up in Tighnabruaich and has spent much of his life either on or in the water! He has sailed for many years gaining his RYA Instructor Certificate in 2015. Theo is a serving crew member on the local RNLI lifeboat and is studying Marine Science in Oban. Theo is very experienced on our waters and is a very keen windsurfer and kitesurfer. A very valuable member of our team.

Erin started her career as an instructor at a very young age, looking after her wee brother’s Oscar and Theo on the water, whilst her parent’s Derek and Fiona were instructing. Now an expert, she still finds time to keep up her instructing whilst on holiday from her job as a farm vet. Of course her sheep-dog Mira has to come along too!

Eve, Derek’s niece, learnt to sail at Carry Farm and spent her summers sailing with her family on the west coast on their Contessa 32. She has instructed for us for many years, first as an assistant instructor before gaining her RYA Instructor Certificate in 2013. Eve is an award winning textile designer, graduating from Glasgow Art School in 2018 with a fantastic career ahead of her. Luckily for us, she is still keen to sail and pass on her experience to our pupils, whilst racing for fun at weekends.

Bret, Eve’s younger brother, enjoys sailing with his family on the west coast of Scotland and has spent the majority of his summers sailing at Tighnabruaich Sailing School. When not on the water in Tighnabruaich he studies Mechanical Engineering at Glasgow University. Like Theo, Bret is a keen windsurfer and kitesurfer and they are often found on the water together having fun. Ask him about his Mini!

Rachel has spent the past 16 summers at Tighnabruaich and learnt to sail joining her older siblings and friends on the water. At long last she is now an Instructor , qualifying in 2019 - the best things in life are always worth waiting for! In her final year at school, we are privileged that Rachel is keen to spend every summer with us and we hope that we have many more years of her chat to keep us going. Rachel’s skills extend well beyond sailing, she can frequently be found cleaning the toilet block to an exceptionally high standard.

Meggie, Rachel’s big sister, learnt to sail at Tighnabruaich, spending her summers at Carry Farm whilst she learnt the ropes on the water. A fantastically patient instructor, she will help the most cautious to be confident on the water. Meggie is currently studying Psychology with Education at Bath University. The Sailing School would not be the same without her!

Catriona first came to Tighnabruaich to learn to sail when she was 11 years old and has never looked back. Her enthusiasm helps to keep everyone happy even on the most challenging of days. Catriona is studying law at Cambridge University, but is really just passing time until she can get back to Tighnabruaich to sail her recently purchased RS600 waiting for her in the boat field!