Mike Shepherd is a Director and the RYA Principal and Chief Instructor. He is the main instructor for Seamotion, teaching all the powerboat courses, shorebased courses and assessing for VHF Marine Radio. He also acts as the Chief Instructor for West Highland College, teaching powerboat and shorebased courses to students on the maritime courses.

He has spent over 35 years working as a Watersports Coach and Centre Manager in the summers all around Europe. His winter occupation until recently was the Ski and Snowboard School Director on Cairngorm Mountain, and he still has time during the winter to spend time teaching both in Scotland and in Europe.

His qualifications are in Management, Health and Safety and IT, which he also uses in his other role as a Management Consultant, advising outdoor companies on writing safety systems, operations manuals and training plans. He is a Chartered Manager and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute. He is also the Station Officer for the Portree Coastguard Rescue Team, on call for Search and Rescue callouts around the coast as well as to assist other emergency services such as the Portree Lifeboat and Skye Mountain rescue Team.

Other qualifications held include: RYA Advanced Powerboat (commercially endorsed), RYA Advanced Powerboat Instructor, RYA VHF/SRC Assessor, RYA Shorebased Instructor, Sea Survival Instructor, Senior Sailing Instructor, Racing Instructor, Advanced Instructor, Windsurf Instructor. He also holds the Mountain Leader Award and is a BASI Ski Teacher, Snowboard Instructor, Race Coach and International License Holder (ISIA)...... to mention the main ones!

Dr Caroline Langdon is our other Director. Her main job is as a lecturer for the Open University, running degree level courses in environmental science and ecology. She also works for West Highland College (part of the University of the Highlands and Islands), mentoring new staff.

Her academic qualifications are in Environmental Management, Ecology and Teaching and she is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She also uses these qualifications in her work as an environmental consultant.

She spent over 20 years working in Mountain rescue, and is now also the Deputy Station Officer for the Portree Coastguard Rescue Team. As a Trainer for SQA First Aid courses, she runs all our first aid courses, and also runs First Aid courses at all levels around the country.

Other qualifications she holds include the RYA Level 2 Powerboat license (commercially endorsed), PADI Divemaster, Advanced Mountain rescue Casualty care and the  Mountain leader Award.