meet our team
Local and international
Pacific Sailing School has a strong and dedicated team of Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Yachtmasters and Australian Sailing (AS) Instructors.
Our RYA Cruising Instructors deliver Competent Crew, Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster practical and theory and Yachtmaster preparation courses for the RYA Exams. The majority of these Instructors have spent many years ocean racing and love sharing their passion.
We have a core of Australian Sailing Instructors who are regularly supplemented by our International visitors. All have extensive sailing experience and are passionate and love sailing.
Terry Wise, Principal
Terry founded Pacific Sailing School in 1977 and continues to play an active role as Principal, tender driver and Sailing Holiday leader. Born in Tamworth, NSW and brought up on the land, he got the sailing bug at The Southport School.
Terry represented the Army in sailing at a National level and crewed in his first Hobart on Balandra in 1975 before skippering Benanthra in 1982.
Before starting the school, he joined a French team breaking two world records crossing the Atlantic. He then spent several years skippering yachts in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Terry has led over 70 sailing holidays worldwide and has about 200,000 miles sailing.
Ian
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore
Ian is our RYA Chief Instructor and is qualified to teach and assess at RYA Day Skipper, RYA Coastal Skipper and RYA Offshore levels. He is also an ICC assessor. He can also be found in our Zoom classrooms teaching shorebased theory for RYA Day Skipper, RYA Coastal Skipper and RYA Yachtmaster. Ian is also an Australian Sailing Instructor and teaches on our J24's and bigger boats during the race season.
John
RYA Yachtmaster / AS Senior Keeboat
John (Gardo) is our Senior Australian Sailing Instructor and regularly teaches AS courses on our J24's and oversees all our AS Instructors. He is an RYA Yachtmaster qualified to teach and assess at RYA Day Skipper level and Safety and Sea Survival. He has competed in most races here in Australia and overseas and is a regular on the Harbour race circuit participating in Twilights, Summer and Winter Series.
Damien
RYA Yachtmaster
Damien is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor qualified to teach and assess at RYA Day Skipper, RYA Coastal Skipper and RYA Offshore levels. He is also an ICC assessor, Radio Invigilator and practical and theory Instructor. He has a wealth of knowledge with over 35 Sydney Hobart Races, most on his own boat. He has won 3 winter series in a row, is a regular competitor in the TP52 class regattas and races regularly in Summer, Winter and Twilight races.
Jean
RYA Yachtmaster
Jean is generally found teaching our Zoom courses for RYA Day Skipper and RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster courses.
She has skippered and taught around the world, including battling fog and container ships in Gibraltar, tides in Cornwall, wild weather on the west coast of Scotland as well as enjoying the idyllic Ionian Sea, Antigua and the British Virgin Islands. She has also raced in the Sydney to Hobart, at Hamilton Island and is currently a Marine Rescue volunteer.
Lisa
RYA Yachtmaster
Lisa is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor, qualified to teach and assess at RYA Day Skipper level, specialising in all female 5 day practical courses.
Lisa is the first woman to sail around Antarctica and Australia - non-stop, single handed and unassisted. Her book Facing Fear was released in November 2020, with the feature length documentary Ice Maiden, showcasing her perseverance and determination released in 2021.
David
AS Senior Keelboat
David is a Senior Keelboat Instructor and is also our big power boat coach.
David regularly competes on the Harbour circuit and has completed many, many Sydney to Hobart races.
Wendy
RYA Yachtmaster
Wendy is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and Examiner. Discovering sailing in her late 20's, she has raced around the world twice, becoming the first female skipper to win any Round-the-World race. She has competed in 13 Sydney to Hobart races and has about 200,000 sea miles under her belt.
Frederic
AS Senior Keelboat
Originally from France but now based in Sydney, Frederic has been sailing for 8 years, including a solo sailing from France to Australia and has over 15,000 ocean miles. Frederic is fluent in French and English.
Alex
AS Senior Keelboat
Alex grew up in Mauritius Island which offers wonderful playground for all watersports. This left him no choice u=but to start sailing and practicing other watersports since he was 4. Sailing has always been part of my life and I am glad to be able to keep learnign and to share this passion with the students. I guess I am known for my funny French accent. Speaks French and Mauritian Creol and English
Vasile
AS Senior Keelboat
Vasile arrived in Australia, from Italy, in late 2024. He has cruised around the Mediterranean Sea and worked delivering boats across the Med.
As a Senior Keelboat Instructor you will regularly find him teaching on our J24s and assisting on our big boat.
Vasile is fluent in Italian, Romanian and English.
Sean
Racing Rules Judge
With a dinghy background, Sean is the youngest skipper ever in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Sean is also a Racing Rules Judge and presents at our Racing Rules Theory night.
He has won a Sydney Hobart and five J24 National Championships. In 2023 he won the Australian National Championships with a student crew on Sailpac, was second in 2022 and first in 2017 and skippered our boat in the World Championships, in Greece in 2023.
Sarah, Sailing Advisor
Sarah can be found in our office Tuesday through Saturday. Her specialty is finding the suitable RYA course for you.
Sarah
AS Senior Keelboat
Sarah arrived from Ireland in 2023 and is an Irish J24 National Champion. She was part of our Instructors all Female/Under 25 National Championship team in 2023, placing first in the Women's division.
In 2020 she was the Irish Sailing Senior Instructor of the Year.
As a Senior Keelboat Instructor you will regularly find her teaching on our J24s.
Richard
AS Senior Keelboat
Richard is a Senior Keelboat Instructor who has been sailing since he was 12. With plenty of experience in dinghy's and keelboats in 2023 he was the RS Aero 9 NSW and Australian champion. Now retired and with his own 33' coastal cruising sloop he enjoys passing on his considerable knowledge to students.
Keanu
AS Senior Keelboat
Katie, Sailing Advisor
Katie can be found in our office on Monday and Tuesday. Her speciality is AS courses