Meet the team
The finest crew on the Norfolk broads.
It takes a lot of work to get the Eastwood Whelpton fleet in the water, ship-shape and ready for your Norfolk sailing adventure. From skilled boatbuilders to RYA instructors and our excellent cleaning team, the Eastwood Whelpton crew are a tight-knit group of sailing enthusiasts, passionate about the Norfolk Broads.

Andy
Boatyard Engineer
Andy doesn’t just own the business alongside his wife, Annie, he is also our chief engineer! Running a boatyard allows Andy to combine his many years of engineering expertise with his lifelong passion for sailing. A very busy man who whatever the weather, can usually be found outside in the yard working alongside the team on the latest project!

Annie
Customer Care/ Marketing
Business owner and a passionate advocate of sailing on the Norfolk Broads, Annie certainly wears many hats! However, her passion is helping you create memories of your time on the water filled with laughter, thrills and plenty of relaxation. Having spent many years visiting Norfolk Annie & Andy made it their permanent home 5 years ago and have been promoting the secrets of the Broads ever since.

Suzy
Finance/Admin
Suzy works part time in the office helping keep the bookings in order and dealing with customer queries.

Caroline
Office Volunteer
Caroline has sailed on the Broads for many years, teaching youngsters how to sail and helping run one of the largest youth Easter Christian cruises. She recently moved to Norfolk and now can be found sailing her Yeoman around Horning, helping out with the Nancy Oldfield Fleet, helping support the office team here at EW and also instructing on our yachts in her spare time!

Nick
Boatbuilder
Nick has been sailing the Norfolk Broads all his life and there isn’t an inch of water he doesn’t know.
A prominent competitor in the many races held locally, sailing really is his passion. His daughter Zoe can also be found here during the summer months teaching many families the joys of sailing with her expert tuition.

Bob
Boatyard Hand
Every business needs a Bob. He is completely unflappable no matter how busy things get and always ready to get stuck into the next challenge. This could be anything from working in the shed finishing projects, to getting our hire fleet ready to set sail. Whatever it is Bob will work calmly and methodically to get the job done!

Sue
Cleaning Team
Sue is a regular at the yard during the busy summer months. She will usually be found prepping our yachts, making sure you have everything needed on board for an easy and relaxing holiday. Sue is our home cook extraordinaire! Her speciality is a tasty pie or sumptuous quiche but whatever she serves up it always goes down well in the staff mess room!

Sophie
Cleaning Team
Sophie is part of the fantastic cleaning team we have here at Eastwood Whelpton. Life is busy for Sophie with a gorgeous young Bassett Hound and a baby on the way. She has the biggest of smiles and the most brilliant sense of humour keeping the whole team cheerful even on the busiest days. Stop Sophie for a chat anytime and she will regale you with stories of boatyard life!

Terry
Boatbuilder
Introducing Terry. A long time member of the crew, his hard work means that all of our yachts are sanded, varnished, painted and finished to the highest of standards. He has lovingly restored many of the yachts in the fleet over the years. A secret petrol head on the side, outside of work Terry enjoys any opportunity to dabble in a spot of car maintenance and restoration.

Frosty
Boatyard Hand
Frosty by name, but not by nature, David is a gentle and caring member of our team and a total legend. He helps keep team morale up with his cheerfulness, singing and playing of sea shanties on his accordion! He helps with rigging, varnishing, launching, re-fuelling and customer briefings. He can be found skippering the Wherry Albion, guarding on the Bure Valley Railway in his spare time!

Hannah
Cleaning Team
Hannah is an important member of our cleaning team here at the yard. Meticulous in her standards she always adds those ‘little touches’ to our yachts leaving them pristine and sparkly clean ready for your holiday to begin. With her mum and sister also working at the yard it is a real family affair. Hannah lives locally with her young family and knows all of the best dog walks in the area if you have a furry friend on board.

Ed
Cleaning Team
Ed also came to the yard for work experience and helps out when he is not at University, trying to keep the ‘Saturday boys’ in order! Helping with anything from rigging to scrubbing decks and deep cleaning yachts. Ed is also an assistant instructor and loves getting out on a Dinghy or borrowing one of our half deckers for a sail.

Jacob
Boatbuilder
One of our longest serving team members, Jacob is a real Norfolk gem. A talented boatbuilder, Jacob has a superb eye for detail and has worked alongside Local Master Mast Builder Peter Charlton to make new masts for the fleet. Jacob also helps with running the yard in the busy sailing season, managing the Changeover Team, on-going maintenance, and customer care.

Gerry
Boatyard Hand
Gerry is a Norfolk lad and has a fantastic backstory as a submariner travelling all over the world in his youth and as a local postman more recently! His Navy background, cheerfulness and hard work ethic is a great asset to us at the yard where he helps with a variety of boatyard tasks. Gerry is the fastest splicer in the yard and has many stories to tell.

Sarah
Cleaning Team
Sarah first came to the yard for work experience while she was at school and has become a regular seasonal team member, when she is not studying for her degree at University. Sarah is hardworking and enthusiastic, helping out with a variety of boatyard tasks from varnishing spars to deep cleaning a yacht. She takes real care to ensure yachts are fully equipped and beautifully clean for customers.

Tony
Boatbuilder
Tony is our newest boatbuilder and recently completed his training at the International Boatbuilding College in Lowestoft. Having worked with wood and furniture all his life, he has been a great addition to the team. Tony enjoys the variety of work that comes with a Hire Fleet and can turn his hand to many other tasks, as needed. Another awesome member of our crew.

Guy
Boatyard Hand
Before Guy joined us here at Eastwood Whelpton he was a professional sailor, crewing for yachts all over the world. Yet get him on the subject of why he loves the Norfolk Broads and you won’t be able to stop him! Guy takes a lead with sailing issues including rigging our fleet during the season. He is also dedicated to instructing those that want to enjoy time on the water.

Kim
Linen & Laundry
Kim is another valued member of our cleaning team during the busy summer months here at Eastwood Whelpton. Always working hard to make sure that our yachts meet her very high standards. Kim lives locally in the village of Upton and outside of work enjoys spending time with her family. In particular it is her two gorgeous young grandsons that keep her on her toes!

Andrew
Senior Instructor
Andrew loves being on the water; here on the Broads in his Yeoman he can be regularly found racing at Horning, helping out with youth sailing, or on Barton Broad as a volunteer instructor for the Nancy Oldfield Trust. He also enjoys being at sea supporting therapeutic voyages run by the Rona Sailing Project. When not sailing Andrew leads a busy life with family and his new grandchildren!

Jimmy
Senior Instructor
Jimmy learnt to sail as a youngster on the Norfolk Broads and on the North Norfolk coast. He jumps at the chance to sail anything and instructs on Dinghies, Keelboats and our ICC course. He is also our Summer Flotilla Skipper and enjoys introducing customers to southern rivers sailing. Jimmy sails regularly at sea, he holds his Coastal Yachtmaster Certificate and is also a Norfolk Wherry Skipper.

Ruth
Senior Instructor
Ruth grew up on the North Norfolk coast as has lived and sailed here ever since. She is qualified to teach in both dinghies and keelboats. Sailing passions include gaff rigged boats, sailing fast and sailing fast in gaff rigged boats. Spare time not in a boat is spent drinking tea, renovating her house project, chasing her toddler around and playing increasingly complicated board games.

Zoe
Instructor
Zoe can be found here regularly in the summer months, teaching families the joys of sailing with her expert instruction. As third generation ‘Eastwood’ at the yard, she follows in the footsteps of her grandfather (John) and father (Nick) as she works towards the completion her Marine Engineering degree.