Wetwheels South East

Founder Member of Wetwheels South East. Born in Dover and have lived in East Kent for the last 35 years.I have been involved in Sailing and Powerboating for over 50 years having held various roles in, local clubs Westbere and Herne Bay (Training Principal, committee member etc) and Training centers ( Manager and Training Principal) plus the Royal yachting Association. RYA Roles including Powerboat Trainer, Advanced Instructor, Safety Boat Instructor, Regional Club Coach and Senior Sailing Instructor. I was invited to join the original group in setting up Wetwheels South East, partly, from my past training and assisting numerous disabled groups and individuals to become involved in Sailing and Powerboating, it was also useful that I am a commercial Skipper.

Andy has been connected to the sea all his life.  He took up sailing at a very young age that led to him joining the Merchant Navy aged 16 as an apprentice Deck Officer.|
When qualified 4 years later he sailed on trampships, liners, bulk carriers and a Ultra Large Crude Carrier covering over one million nautical miles.
Andy then joined Her Majesty’s Coastguard in 1983 and spent 14 years in the operations room at Dover Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre dealing with many thousands of incidents including being one of the UK officers on duty on the night of the tragic loss of the Herald of Free Enterprise.
In 1997 Andy became the Coastguard Sector Manager for East Kent (and covering for East Sussex.) 
Once retired from The Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Andy became a Launching Authority for Dover Lifeboat.
Andy is also a judicial office holder and works part time for Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service.

Clare took her first trip on Wetwheels South East upon her launch in 2018 and guess you could say became hooked. 

Clare has always felt at home in or on the water. In her previous role as a Health Club Manager she was a qualified lifeguard and swimming instructor. 

When a rare neurological illness struck 20 years ago Clare went from someone who swam a mile a day, who worked out in the gym daily, worked full time and volunteered as an Adult Warrant Officer with her local Air Training Corps, to then requiring the use mobility aids, and latterly becoming a full-time wheelchair user. 

Accessing suitable activities that required little energy became difficult. That was until Clare discovered Wetwheels. Wetwheels has provided Clare with a sense of freedom that no other activity had until then. It allowed her to be an active participant, being able to 'wheel' up to the ramped helm in her wheelchair and actually drive the boat. It has also allowed her to be a passive participant. Simply enjoying the boats movements as it travels through the water. 

She is passionate about sharing the benefits of Wetwheels to anyone who has any kind of disability. 

Dave Taylor has been involved with the channel for the past 25 years principally as a
member of the Folkestone Motor Boat and Yacht Club Diving Section
He retired from the Engineering Insurance industry in 2013 and has since been involved with
voluntary work within the area

Dave has been a member of the National Coastwatch Institution for 9 years and is currently
Station Manager at Folkestone. He is also a member of the Folkestone Rotary Club
supporting good causes with the local area.
Dave joined the Wetwheels crew in 2017 and in that time has enjoyed supporting the
charity and its clients on their many trips along our local coastline, into London , across to
Osstende on Wetwheels exercises with the RNLI and is looking forward to continuing

Elspeth started her love of water on the canals whilst on holiday as a child, she then went onto being a lifeboat crew member with Severn Area Rescue Association. After moving back to Kent , she joined Kent Search and Rescue.

Elspeth is Mum to William, who also loves the boat. She started Dunn Virtually, in 2019 providing administrative support to business owners.

With her great admin skills, Elspeth delivers our office functions and help us deliver all our experiences, as well as crewing the boat.

Glyn has skippered Wetwheels over many nautical miles years since retiring from P&O in 2018.

Glyn is often accompanied by his wife Mairi or his granddaughters Molly or Rebecca who are working to become crew in 2022

As a commercial Yachtmaster offshore commercial and Chief Engineer unlimited for an size of motor vessel as well as being a RYA powerboat instructor.

Glyn was awarded the Merchant Navy medal for Meritorious Service to the Merchant Navy and RNLI, Awarded by Royal Warrant & presented by Princess Anne

James is always happiest on and around the water, including his honeymoon navigation the Caledonian Canal. By day he is the Sales Director for the European branch of an American Software company.

After "retiring" from 15 years with Kent Search and Rescue and NSARDA Kent, James brings a wealth of voluntary and charity experience to Wetwheels South East.

Father to 3 boys, Ethan, Lucas and William who are following in their father's footsteps in their love of water and being afloat!

James is one of our qualified skippers and is responsible for the day to day running of Wetwheels South East

When not onboard Wetwheels she can sometimes be found at weekends in the Dover Lifeboat shop

Mairi holds a Sunsail Competent Crew Qualification and RYA Day Skipper theory certificate, a qualified scuba diver she has spent many years in the past diving from the family boat off of the Scottish West Coast. 

She enjoys spending part of every summer sailing in the Greek Island aboard a chartered yacht with her husband Glyn.

Mairi particularly enjoys our Harbour Trips and shorter Coastal Trips where there are more opportunities to stop, enable our passengers to drive the boat and talk  with everyone onboard else about the sea and coastline as they share their experiences with each other.

Neil has been with Wetwheels for  4 years as a volunteer Crew member. Numerous Stour Estuary Seal trips, a few Goodwin Sands and White Cliffs trips. I have also crewed on private charters. Some of the community engagements include Several training exercises with the Dover RNLI Lifeboat & taking Wetwheels to Imperial Wharf London. I have done a Disability Awareness course & annual Wetwheels refresher training.  Neil has a long nautical history ia a retired P&O marine engineer with 10 years deep sea on container, bulk, methane & LPG carriers.

Nic a retired Social Worker, has been an avid mariner since being a boy when he crossed the channel on an open sailing boat. Crewed on motor and sailing vessels from tall ships , racing yachts , traditional craft to working powerboats Scuba Diving and Angling . Been a crew member of Wetwheels SE since 2018 where so many interests come together which include musician and teller of sea tales .

Sam has the privilege and honour of being one of the founding directors of Wet Wheels South East CIC

Sam is also the Sales Director of Icom UK Ltd, a company founded in 1974 providing high quality Marine, Aviation, Amateur, PMR, Satellite & 3/4G LTE two way radios to the  business, leisure and hobby markets.

In his early years he was a yacht skipper and competed in various sailing events around the world, and delivered a number of yachts in the Northern hemisphere. He is also still a keen yacht and dinghy sailor competing in a number events around the UK.

He is married with two adult children, Ellie an Event Manger in hospitality industry, and Max a 2nd Officer in the Merchant Navy who was sponsored as a cadet by Trinity House.