Our Founder

Miles Pitcher

MCA Master 200 | IMO trainer | RYA Yachtmaster Instructor – Sail & Motor | Professional Seafarer & Maritime Instructor

Our school was founded by Miles Pitcher, a professional seafarer, Master and maritime instructor whose career spans professional yachting, commercial workboats, sail training, offshore operations and maritime education.

Raised in the renowned sailing town of Burnham-on-Crouch, on England’s east coast, Miles’ connection with the sea began at an early age aboard his father’s 22-foot cruiser. What started on the rivers and estuaries of the East Coast developed into an international maritime career encompassing more than 80,000 nautical miles and command, instructional and operational roles across the UK, Europe, Atlantic and Caribbean.

An MCA Master 200 and RYA Yachtmaster Instructor for both Sail and Motor, Miles has commanded and operated a wide range of vessels, from sailing and motor yachts to ocean-racing vessels, commercial workboats and high-speed craft.

His professional yachting career has included serving as Sailing Master aboard the 24-metre Ocean Spirit of Moray For GORDONSTOUN School and working as a Commissioning Skipper for Oyster Yachts, one of Britain’s most respected blue-water yacht builders. This involved the preparation, commissioning and delivery of new yachts, alongside owner tuition and ensuring vessels were prepared to the standards expected of a world-class yacht builder.

His career has also taken him into the world of private-island and high-end yacht operations, including working as Head Boat Captain at Necker Island, where his responsibilities encompassed professional vessel operations, high-speed craft, maintenance and the delivery of marine services within an exacting luxury environment.

Alongside his career at sea, Miles has developed extensive experience in professional maritime education. As Chief Instructor at Europe’s leading maritime academy, he was responsible for instructors, training vessels, facilities and the development of students progressing towards professional maritime careers.

He later worked as a Senior Maritime Instructor, delivering commercial maritime training to a particularly diverse range of professional operators. His instructional experience has included MCA Small Ships Navigation & Radar, Efficient Deck Hand, STCW training, vessel construction, RYA Courses and Master 200 preparation, together with training programmes supporting professional apprenticeships and commercial vessel operations.

His students have included pilot boat coxswains, crew transfer vessel personnel, ferry operators and commercial seafarers, as well as personnel associated with Royal Navy patrol vessels and the Ministry of defence Police.

Miles has also worked extensively within the offshore wind industry aboard Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs), giving him first-hand experience of the operational demands, safety culture and professional standards required within the modern commercial workboat sector.

More recently, his career has progressed into operations management for the largest yacht charter fleet in the world based in the British Virgin Islands, with operational responsibility within a charter base comprising approximately 320 yachts and 180 personnel. The role brings together vessel operations, fleet readiness, safety, staff leadership and the management of one of the largest concentrations of charter yachts anywhere in the world.

Complementing his maritime qualifications, Miles also comes from a professional electrical engineering and marine technical background, providing an understanding of vessels that extends beyond navigation and seamanship into their electrical, mechanical and operational systems.

Experience Behind the Training

It is this combination of command experience, commercial vessel operations, yacht commissioning, offshore work, technical knowledge, senior management and professional instruction that forms the foundation of our approach to maritime training.

We believe that becoming a professional seafarer requires considerably more than passing an examination.

Our training is designed to develop judgement, seamanship, situational awareness, technical understanding and professional standards — the qualities required when responsibility for a vessel, crew and passengers ultimately rests with you.

From the first steps into the maritime industry through to advanced professional qualifications, our aim is simple:

To train capable, confident and highly professional seafarers, using standards developed through genuine experience at sea.

Miles Pitcher — Qualifications & Professional Credentials

Command & Yachtmaster

• MCA Master 200

• RYA Yachtmaster Instructor – Sail

• RYA Yachtmaster Instructor – Motor

• RYA Yachtmaster Offshore – Sail & Motor, Commercially Endorsed

• RYA Advanced Powerboat Instructor

• RYA Tender Operator Instructor

• RYA PWC Instructor

MCA / Maritime Instructor Qualifications

• MCA Small Ships Electronic Navigation & Radar Instructor

• MCA Efficient Deck Hand Instructor

• MCA Personal Survival Techniques Instructor (STCW Sea Survival)

• RYA Navigation Theory Instructor

• RYA Radar Instructor

• IMO Trainer

STCW, Safety & Leadership

• STCW Basic Safety & Security Training

• STCW Medical First Aid on Board Ship

• HELM – Human Element, Leadership & Management (Operational)

• ENG1 Medical Certificate

Radio & Communications

• GMDSS General Operator's Certificate (GOC)

• GMDSS VHF Short Range Certificate (SRC)

Marine Engineering & Technical

• BMEEA Marine Electrical Technician

• NMEA 0400 Marine Electronics Installer

• RYA Diesel Maintenance

• Level 3 NVQ – Electrotechnical Technology

• Level 3 Award – Testing & Certification of 240V and Three-Phase Electrical Installations

• Level 2 Health & Hygiene in Catering at Sea