Matt Toynbee - Seasonal Instructor
Matt started sailing with his family on a small thirty foot yacht called Natasha, enjoying weekend trips around the Essex coastline. But as a teenager he got bored of this sedate approach to sailing and started racing Toppers and later Lasers on the coast with the youth section of the Colne Yacht Club and at his local club Broxbourne SC in Hertfordshire. Sailing continued to be important to Matt during his time at Edinburgh University and combined with snowboarding, climbing and kiteboarding was certainly a contributing factor to him taking time out from a philosophy degree to experiment with life as a professional watersports instructor.
“Having spent my university summers working as a dinghy instructor at Port Edgar I was confident that being a dinghy instructor would be a good way to earn a living. So having spent the first part of the summer taking a yacht from the south coast to the Med, then spending the season at Port Edgar, I promptly disappeared to Turkey to work at a beach resort as a watersports instructor. Capitalising on the yachting experience gained on racing yachts, and borrowing my Dad’s yacht since my late teens, I took and passed my Yachtmaster Exam. Then returned to Turkey the following season to run the yacht jetty at a new beach resort. Taking responsibility for the ten boat fleet, as well as running flotillas and skippering boats for charterers, opened my eyes to the world of the yacht chartering business. There’s nothing quite as motivating for problem solving, than knowing that the problem must be fixed, and the yacht must leave then the next morning”.
“But Turkey gave me more than just time working with yachts. Also spending a little bit of time taking responsibility for the running of the beach, using my recently acquired senior instructor ticket, and developing the skills to lead a team of instructors with very different motivations. Returning to the UK to work for SportScotland at Cumbrae has allowed me to formalize the windsurfing skills, after blasting around on the water in Turkey, and returned me back into the more formal environment of a sailing school. It was good also, to make a return to yacht racing, competing with some success on a J109 at the big Scottish and Irish events”.
Over the last few years of working full time in this industry Matt has worked at a number of places and had the chance to see a few different parts of the world. “I am currently spending the winter summer holidaying in Australia working for a yacht club sailing school. I have spent much of the time campaigning a range of sportsboats and small keelboats as well as doing my first down-under offshore race across the Bass Straight over Christmas, in between times I have been getting the hang of skippering an eighteen foot skiff. But am looking forward to returning to the UK in the Spring”.
Top Tips.
It’s fairly obvious, from what Matt’s been up to in Australia this winter, he’s keen on racing so his Top Tips are as follows:
Whether you are racing a dinghy or a keelboat, getting out onto the course area early is always good for several reasons. Particularly, as often what happens with me, you are starting with an irregular crew! This then allows time for rehearsals of any new roles. Also giving time, to look at the wind and actual conditions, in preparation for racing.
Sailing upwind on the first leg can check the boat and rig set up. Very useful for keelboats with changeable headsails and mainsails which can be reefed, that you’ve got it right.
Psychologically being out early is great, allowing you time to tune into the conditions, and mentally prepare for the race. It can help unsettle the opposition, seeing you out early appearing keen to get going, and looking professional, which also works in your favour.