Mike Keeton, Sailing New Zealand Company Director, has raced for 44 years putting up 100,000’s ocean miles including 2 Round the World Races. Mike still competes successfully in the very competitive masters Laser racing class finishing 10th in the Laser Masters 2007 World Championships. Mike has skippered keelers for 35 years, coached match racing crews, taught sailing at AUT, taught in the Med, built sails used at Olympics’ & placed in the top 4 in several world titles.

Matt Keeton, Company Director and qualified skipper, has raced yachts for 20 years, started life as a commercial fisherman and can show you not only the best spots but how to catch the big fish.

Gray Gibson, qualified skipper, is a 47 year old with extensive background in One Design and Keelboat racing. He has represented New Zealand in the Flying Dutchman and Soling Olympic Classes, and was a member of the NZ Olympic Team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Since 1989 he has competed in the International Etchells Class in 10 World Championships, with finishes of 4th in 96, 7th in 97, and more recently a 9th place in last years event in San Francisco.

Gray lived in Asia for 10 years in the 1990's, and raced larger boats in the region, competing in biannual China Sea Races, and San Fernando Races from Hong Kong to the Phillipines, winning 2 races in each. He has also competed in the Kings Cup in Thailand, and in the inaugural Hong Kong to Vietnam Race.

With close to 50,000 miles behind him, he is an experienced Offshore sailor. Many of these miles were done in Asia most as Skipper, both racing and on deliveries. He has sailed across the Pacific Ocean in both directions, the first as crew on a 70 ft luxury cruising boat through Alaska. The second was as skipper delivering a ULDB 70 ft Racing Boat from Los Angeles to Hong Kong.

Steve Pickering has been in the charter boat industry for the past 15 years skippering charter cats for 10 of those years. He holds a CLM certificate he gained in 1989. He has a lot of coastal experience and has spent the past year skippering and actively involved in the refit of Maska for Sailing New Zealand Co Ltd. Between 2000 and 2002 he ran a 50 foot charter cat out of Tauranga with approximately 5000 charter guests over that period.