Serving the Yacht Charter industry for 30 years
Island Spirit Yacht Charter
Meet the crew
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Most charter companies will tell you they have an experienced team. Few can show you what that actually means.
Ours can.
Between them, the Island Spirit leadership team brings over 100 years of combined sailing and maritime industry experience — spanning the Royal Navy, yacht operations on some of the world’s most celebrated sailing grounds, and three decades of permanent operations in the waters we call home.
These are not hospitality managers who found their way into sailing. They are sailors, engineers, captains and operators who chose this industry, chose Thailand, and chose Island Spirit — and between them know these waters and this business better than any other charter team in the world.
The result is a team that doesn’t just manage a charter operation — it understands one from every angle. From the keel of a yacht being built in our factory to the moment a guest steps off the water at the end of a charter, every part of what Island Spirit does is led by someone who has spent a career mastering it.
That depth of expertise is rare in this industry. Globally, it is unmatched.
RON
Chief Operating Officer
25 years in Thailand. 16 in the yacht industry. Before those, Ron built a serious career as a senior VP of Operations in the software industry — a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University, deep operational expertise, and a professional life that took him across the breadth of Asia. The engineering mind that came with that career still shows in how Island Spirit’s operations are built and run today.
Then a sailing course with Island Spirit in 2006 and a cruising ground called Koh Chang stopped him in his tracks. He knew a good operation when he saw one — and he knew exactly how to make it a great one. So he bought the company.
What came with him was everything that makes Island Spirit perform at the level it does. The operational discipline, the instinct for building systems and teams that don’t cut corners, and the perspective of someone who has been a sailor and a customer himself. As COO and owner he holds every charter, every yacht and every guest interaction to exactly the standard he’d expect if he were the one stepping on board.
His favourite anchorage is Ao Bang Bao off Koh Kut, and he will make the case for Koh Chang as the finest cruising ground on the planet to anyone, at any hour, for as long as required — a place where even in high season you get a bay to yourself, a beach with no one on it, and the distinct feeling the rest of the world hasn’t quite arrived yet.
That feeling is precisely why he bought the company. And exactly what Island Spirit is built to deliver.
Oliver
Vice President of Charter Operations
30 years sailing. 15 in the yacht industry. RYA Ocean Yachtmaster, twice across the Atlantic and a career in Charter Operations — Oliver has seen enough of the world to know exactly what a great charter company looks and feels like. At Island Spirit he oversees operations across all our Thailand locations with a straightforward goal: to keep the business genuinely good at what it does. Every yacht is maintained to the highest standards, owners are treated as real partners, and guests get the experience they actually came for, whilst refusing to become just another big charter operation that’s forgotten why it started.
Didier
Sailing School Manager
Few people in Asia know more about putting sailors safely on the water than Didier. With 43 years in the yacht industry, 17 of them in Thailand, and IMO Yachtmaster and IMO Safety Officer qualifications earned the hard way, he leads our IYT-accredited sailing school with the conviction that has defined his entire career — that safety and great sailing are never in conflict. One always enables the other.
Alice
Group HR & Legal
Over a decade leading teams across the global yachting and travel industry — Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Exotics — Alice has seen what world-class charter looks like from the inside.
At Island Spirit she puts that to work building the teams and customer experience that make guests come back year after year. The magic moments that make the hard work worthwhile don’t happen by accident. They happen because the right people are in the right place.
Her verdict on the best sailing ground in the world? The Koh Chang archipelago — as beautiful as anywhere she’s dropped anchor, and not an overcrowded bay in sight.
Lee
General Manager- Manufacturing
Royal Navy Marine Engineer turned yacht builder — Lee brings military-grade precision to Island Spirit’s manufacturing operation, leading the team that builds the IS410, IS525 EV and Austhai catamaran range. 30 years in Thailand, including 15 based on Koh Samui, means his knowledge of the Gulf’s waters, weather patterns and seasonal rhythms runs as deep as his engineering standards, and the kind of local detail that only three decades on these waters teaches.
Favourite spot in our cruising area: Koh Nang Yuan off Koh Tao — small, stunning, and worth every mile of the sail to get there.
Craig
Charter Sales Lead
7 years in Thailand and previous roles as a sailing instructor, sailing school manager, Koh Chang and Koh Samui base manager — Craig has worked his way through Island Spirit from the water up, and sailed every destination we offer along the way. When he recommends a charter or a cruising ground, it’s from experience, not a brochure. He’ll also have a good story to go with it. Favourite place on the water: Koh Phu near Koh Lanta — quiet, stunning, and exactly the kind of spot you find after years of sailing these waters.
Joe
Charter Base Manager in Koh Chang & Koh Samui
22 years in the luxury yacht industry. RYA Yachtmaster qualified, full STCW95 certified, and who guests consistently describe as one of the highlights of their charter. Joe traded the Seychelles for the Gulf of Thailand to run Island Spirit’s Koh Chang and Koh Samui bases — and having spent seasons in the Koh Chang archipelago, he’ll tell you the swap was a good one. He makes sure every guest lands, transfers smoothly, and steps onto a yacht that is immaculate and ready to go — and then makes sure the rest of the trip matches that first impression. Ask him for his favourite spots and clear your schedule: Khlong Chao Bay, Captain Hook Bay, Bang Bao Bay on Koh Kut, and the waters around Koh Mak are just the start.
Jamie
Charter Base Manager in Phuket
Born and raised in Phuket — Jamie knows the Andaman Sea the way most people know their own neighbourhood, and after a lifetime here it still surprises him every time he’s on the water.
6+ years in yachting, starting as an electrical engineer for marine electronics brands including B&G, C-Zone and Mastervolt, before moving into charter operations and completing his IYT Day Skipper certification through Island Spirit’s own sailing school.
As Base Manager he runs the Phuket operation with a simple conviction: the best thing he can give every guest is his knowledge — of the waters, the anchorages, the conditions, and the yacht they’re stepping onto. That combination of local expertise and technical understanding is what turns a good charter into an exceptional one.
Favourite spot: Railay Beach just after high season, when the crowds thin and the place reveals what it actually looks like. Worth planning a charter around!
And why has Jamie never left Phuket? Amazing sailing, spicy somtum and sticky rice. Some things, he’ll tell you, are just non-negotiable.
Island Spirit Yacht Charter
a 30 years adventure
Today
Island Spirit Yacht Charter is Thailand’s leading independent charter operator, with a fleet of over 40 yachts and the only company operating dedicated charter bases across all three of Thailand’s premier sailing destinations: Phuket, Koh Chang, and Koh Samui. That geographic reach isn’t just a logistics advantage — it means our teams have spent decades learning these waters, their seasons, their anchorages, and the experiences that make each region unique.
Through Island Spirit Sailing School, we run Asia’s most comprehensive sailing education programme. As an IYT-accredited training centre, we offer internationally recognised qualifications from first-time beginner sessions through to an immersive 3-month “Learn to Cruise the World” programme — available nowhere else in Asia.
Island Spirit Charters sits at the centre of the broader Island Spirit Group, which also spans yacht manufacturing, brokerage, and finance — giving our charter guests access to resources and expertise that no single-service operator can match.
Early days
Our story begins in 1993, when Elite Yachting became one of Phuket’s first-ever yacht charter operators — helping to build the region’s sailing industry from the ground up at a time when private yacht charter in Thailand was virtually unknown.
A decade later, in 2003, Gulf Charters Thailand made history again by pioneering yacht charter in the Gulf of Thailand, opening bases in Koh Chang and Koh Samui and introducing sailors to destinations that had never before been explored commercially by private yacht.
That same year, we established Asia’s first IYT-accredited yacht training school at Ocean Marina in Jomtien — two hours south of Bangkok — bringing internationally recognised sail training qualifications to Southeast Asia for the first time.
Evolution
The Island Spirit Group grew from a single manufacturing venture into Thailand’s most integrated yacht business through a series of deliberate, strategic expansions.
It began with Island Spirit Manufacturing, which today builds the Island Spirit range of leisure catamarans and the Austhai Marine range of commercial vessels. The manufacturing foundation gave the group a unique depth of technical knowledge that flows through everything we do in charter and training.
In 2018, the acquisition of both Gulf Charters Thailand and Elite Yachting brought together the two companies that had built Thailand’s charter industry — creating the country’s largest independent bareboat charter fleet under one roof.
Through those acquisitions came two authorised dealerships: Bavaria Yachts and Catalina Yachts — manufacturer-recognised partnerships that form the core of Island Spirit Brokerage and give our clients access to new vessels with full factory backing.
Island Spirit Finance completed the picture, making yacht ownership genuinely accessible by offering structured finance options for clients who want to place a yacht into the charter fleet — a model that benefits owners, guests, and the fleet alike.
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What our customers say
Guest Experiences
These reviews are shared directly by our guests after their time on board, reflecting their real experience with us.
Not sure which charter is right for you?
Our team has over 30 years of local knowledge and is happy to help you plan the perfect sailing holiday.