About Us

Chieftain Training is a trading name/brand used by two separate Not For Profit organisations, Southampton Boat Club Ltd. and STCW Ltd.

Southampton Boat Club has existed informally for several decades and was originally a small group of local sailors, power boaters and sea fishermen operating on the River Itchen. In 2018 the members formalised their group’s status into a Limited Company. The Club organises training courses for leisure boaters and those seeking work within the recreational boating industry. Courses are run from Bitterne Park, Southampton and Dumbarton, Scotland.

STCW Ltd. is also a training centre and focuses on the provision of training for commercial seafarers. Courses are run from Willments Shipyard, Southampton.

Neither organisation has any share holders. Any profit we make is ploughed back into the organisations to ensure we continue working towards our key objectives.

OUR KEY OBJECTIVES

1. “Provide high quality vocational training for those wishing to pursue a career in the marine industry.”

2. “Facilitate participation in the sports of sailing, yachting, jet skiing, sub-aqua, water skiing, ocean rowing and angling by the provision of moorings, equipment storage, changing facilities, refereeing, judging, training and coaching.”

3. “To support lifeboat charities whose primary objective is to prevent loss of life at sea.”

MEET OUR TRIBE

BECKY INNES (Accounts Director)

Becky-Innes-Chieftain-Training — Becky Innes

Becky is the most organised amongst us and keeps us all in check. Since 2007, she has worked on the management team of three RYA Training Centres. Prior to that she was with the RYA (within the racing and dispatch departments). She has also worked for the SB20 Class Association and at a busy local sailing Club. Becky is a yacht sailor and a scuba diver. She has raced in RORC, Cowes Week, Barbados and Antigua and extensively cruised the South Coast of England, Scilly Isles, Channel Islands, Caribbean, Greece and Turkey. She has scuba dived as far afield as Egypt, Jordan, and Mexico and she likes to travel.

RYA Day Skipper Shorebased
RYA Day Skipper Sail
RYA Dinghy Level 1 & 2
RYA SRC
RYA Sea Survival
PADI Advanced Open Water
HSE First Aid at Work

DOUG INNES (Principal)

Doug has been a Chief Instructor or Principal of an RYA and/or STCW Training Centre since 2000. He has sailed for 4 decades, been an Instructor for 3 decades and a Powerboat owner for 2 decades.

He has skippered yachts since the 90s and was one of the first Master 200 (tonnes) in the UK. His race wins include; RORC Series, Round Britain & Ireland, Cowes to Cascais, Antigua Week, Round Barbados and many other international regattas. He has raced Trans Atlantic twice (2nd and 4th). Alongside his Director responsibilities Doug delivers many of our RYA Instructor, Survival, First Aid, STCW and Long Range Certificate Courses.

BA (Hons). Maritime Leisure Management
MCA Master 200 & OOW 500
RYA Advanced Powerboat Trainer
RYA PWC Trainer
RYA Dinghy, Keelboat & Multi-hull Trainer
RYA First Aid Trainer
RYA SRC Trainer
RYA Navigation Trainer
RYA Radar Trainer
RYA Diesel Engine Trainer
RYA Teaching in Classroom Trainer
RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Instructor (motor & sail)
RYA Sea Survival, Offshore Safety & STCW Instructor
RYA Sail Foiling & Windsurfing Instructor
MT Rock Climbing Instructor (SPA)
PADI Dive Master

C–ALLUM V–AUGHAN (Digital Marketing, Course Advisor & Office Admin)

C–allum joined us in 2022, initially part time. We quickly recognised his talents and offered him a full time position. He has a background in IT, networking and in media/design. He also takes charge of record keeping as well as handling many enquiries.

BSc (Hons) Computing
MSc Music Technology
Diploma in Creative Media
STCW & HSE First Aid

ROD SMITH (Chief Instructor, Scotland)

Know as the, “Sailing Scotsman,” Rod is a well known figure on the West coast. He spent many years as a Senior member of the team at the Scottish National Watersports Centre and now conducts a considerable amount of Instructor Training and Yachtmaster exams for the RYA.

RYA Yachtmaster Examiner
RYA Yachtmaster Instructor Trainer
RYA Advanced Powerboat Trainer
RYA PWC Trainer
RYA First Aid Trainer
RYA Diesel Trainer
RYA Radar Trainer
RYA Navigation Trainer
RYA SRC Instructor / Assessor
RYA Sea Survival Instructor
RYA Senior Dinghy & Keelboat Instructor
RYA Centre Inspector

BRIAN CLOUGH (Chief Powerboat Instructor, Southampton)

Brian has been around boats for more years than he cares to remember. He has sailed most of the waters around the UK, with numerous cross channel trips and transited the great lakes NW to SE. As an avid Scuba Diver, he has been around RIBs for over 30 years and has dived The Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

He enjoyed a 38-year career with the MOD as an electronic engineer and is now 20+ years into a second career as a Powerboat Instructor, Principal and Chief Instructor. He previously owned and ran his own RYA & BSAC training centre, until the premises were re purposed.

RYA Powerboat Advanced Instructor
RYA SRC Instructor / Assessor
RYA Advanced Powerboat COC
RYA Safety-boat
RYA Sea Survival
RYA Day Skipper Shorebased
RYA Day Skipper Sail
BSAC Seamanship Instructor
BSAC Diver Coxswain
BSAC Oxygen Administrator

MATT BLAND (Senior Ship’s Security Instructor)

Matt Bland

Matt began inghy sailing at a young age. He later moved to the coast to study and continued into offshore racing and tall ships. About 20 years ago he joined Doug’s Cruising Instructor Course and entered the world of RYA Training. His main job was as a Master in the Merchant Navy and following a 17-year seagoing career he accepted a shore based position with a local shipping company. He now manages marine compliance and safety for them and he works part-time for us as required.

STCW Master (Unlimited)
Nautical Institute Marine Incident Investigator
Nautical Institute Navigation Assessor
STCW Ship / Company Security Officer
Designated Person Ashore
RYA Yachtmaster Ocean CoC
RYA Navigation Instructor
RYA Radar Instructor
RYA SRC Assessor

NIGEL RENNIE (Senior Ocean Navigation Instructor)

Nigel had a distinguished 26-year career in the British Army, serving as a Sergeant Major in the the Royal Engineers (REME). During that time he became a RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and when he stepped onto “civvie street” he became a full time professional yachtsmen. He is a well known and long standing Examiner and he has volunteered for many years at his local sailing club were he is the Commodore. He is the Race Officer for the Warsash Spring Series, one of the biggest yacht race series in the UK and he teaches the majority of our Ocean and astro courses as well as helping with the World Sailing Offshore Survival courses.

RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Examiner
RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Instructor
World Sailing Offshore Survival Instructor
RYA Race Officer

CARL BRYAN-BROWN (Senior 12 Volt Instructor)

Carl has skippered everything from an Optimist dinghy to a 80′ maxi yacht, he has sailed through blue water paradises, hurricanes and pirate attacks. He has completed a round the world circumnavigation and skippered over twenty Trans Pacific and Trans Atlantic crossings, (including 1 solo Atlantic crossing). He has raced in the Sydney Hobart, several Fastnets and placed 2nd in the Round the Island Race. He became a Yachtmaster Instructor in 1996 around the same time he managed and skippered Creighton’s Naturally (world famous 80′ Whitbread Round the World Yacht). He has logged over 150,000 miles and has managed and re wired dozens of yachts from 35-80 feet. He now works offshore on rotation so has a three weeks with us, then three weeks on the wind farm and so on. In between skippering he trained as a teacher and worked for some time as a A level Physics teacher, he now heads up our 12 Volt Marine Electrics Course and assist with a number of other STCW and RYA courses

Quote, “I have life long interest in team building and personal development. I encourage students to sail, not just for recreation but for transformation.”

MCA Master 200 & OOW 500
RYA Ocean Yachtmaster Instructor (power & sail)
RYA Powerboat Instructor
RYA First Aid Instructor
HSE First Aid Instructor
RYA Yachtmaster Ocean CoC (power & sail)
Degree in Applied Physics
A-Level Physics Teacher
A-Level Physics Examiner
Round the World Skipper

PETE HARRISON (Senior Powerboat Instructor)

Like most of us, Pete has been around boats all of his life. As a teenager he windsurfed and raced Lasers before finding his way onto Tall-ships with The Ocean Youth Club (now Ocean Youth Trust). In his 20s he worked in the Med. initially as a water sports instructor, and then managing water-sports beach clubs. He moved from water sports to flotilla and became a Med. yacht skipper. Eventually he retuned to the UK and got back into dinghy and keelboat racing (towards the front of the Laser 2, Laser 4000 and SB3 classes).

In the nineties and early naughties Pete and Doug working alongside each other as race coaches and powerboat Instructors. Since then Pete has logged many miles of keelboat racing, Fastnet racing, performance coaching and powerboat instruction. These days, when not teaching our RYA Powerboat courses, he can be found pottering on his Hardy (motor boat) around Chichester Harbour, or dinghy racing.

RYA Advanced Powerboat Instructor
RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore Sail Certificate of Competence
RYA /MCA Advanced Powerboat Certificate of Competence
RYA Navigation Instructor
RYA Senior Dinghy Instructor
RYA Safetyboat Instructor
RYA Racing Coach

ALAN RACKETT (Powerboat & SRC Instructor)

Alan has been involved with boats all of his life. He is a volunteer lifeboatman and rather uniquely is on the crew for two lifeboat stations, Hamble Lifeboat and Gosport & Fareham Inshore Rescue (GAFIRS).

Alan is a trained Ambulance Technician and a former member of the Hillhead Coastguard Rescue Team. Prior to joining us he skippered one of the Wet Wheels power catamarans

RYA Powerboat Instructor
RYA SRC Assessor
RYA First Aid Instructor
RYA / MCA Yachtmaster CoC [Power]
IHCD First Person on Scene
Level 3 Ambulance & Emergency Care

GARETH GLOVER (Navigation, Safety & VHF Instructor)

Gareth-Glover-Chieftain-Training — Gareth Glover

Gareth has been in the yachting and watersports industry full-time since the middle of the nineties. He was the former Chief Instructor at a Brighton based RYA Centre and is also an RYA Centre Inspector. In 2011, he was selected by Clipper Ventures to skipper “New York” in the Round the World Race 2011/12. After 42,000 miles and a year away, he returned to the UK, but soon had itchy feet. He was again selected to skipper the Round the World Race, this time on Qingdao. Asides from his RTW skippering he is a Powerboat Instructor, and a RYA Dinghy Trainer (i.e. he trains other Dinghy Instructors). He has operated races yachts on boat sides of the Atlantic. Whether teaching navigation, VHF Radio or Sea Survival with us his examples are from true experience gained from many years at sea.

RYA Yachtmaster Sail Instructor
RYA Yachtmaster Motor Instructor
MCA Yachtmaster Ocean CoC
RYA Dinghy Trainer
RYA Keel Boat Trainer
RYA Powerboat Advanced Instructor
RYA Sea Survival and Offshore Safety Instructor
RYA SRC Instructor/Assessor
MCA STCW Medical First Aid & Medical Care Aboard Ship
Twice, Round the World Race Skipper

INDIA & JULIET (Chief Scroungers)

India and/or Juliet will often greet you on arrival at the centre. They have both sat in on many of our courses and by now they should both have mastered the sextant, diesel engine maintenance, life raft use and basic life support. They have cruised the south coast as far as the Scillies and know their was round many Solent watering holes.