WHO WE ARE
MST is a family of people with a simple philosophy, that giving young people and vulnerable adults the opportunity to go sailing offshore can change their lives.
A small organisation, we are blessed with a dedicated team of around fifty volunteers who serve alongside our base team, acting as Sea Staff on voyages, helping with maintenance, or coordinating administration. Most of our team sailed onboard our vessels as young people themselves so know exactly how you're feeling!
We are a Christian sailing charity, which means that our staff and volunteers believe that Jesus died for their sins and to enable us to have a relationship with God. We aim to show the love of God to everyone we sail with through how we act and how we live our lives.
You definitely don't have to be a Christian to sail with us, and most of those who sail with MST are not Christian!
MEET THE BASE TEAM
Toby Humphreys
Chief Executive
Toby first sailed with MST in 2014, and spent time as the full time Staff Skipper before taking over the leadership of the Trust in 2019. He is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and still tries to get out on the water as often as he can!
Toby is responsible for the management and direction of the charity and is often the first person you'll come into contact with.
Danielle Richardson
Fleet Manager
Danielle looks after our vessels: managing refits and maintenance programmes, ensuring everything is in order for new crews, and supporting sea staff with any problems they have during voyages.
Danielle first sailed with MST at a teenager before training as a professional boatbuilder. When not working on our boats Dani lives onboard and is restoring her own classic yacht!
Rebecca Newall
Administrative Assistant
Rebecca first sailed with MST in 2016 and went on to spend two years as our Staff Mate.
In 2020 she traded her sea boots for university books, but continues to support the Trust remotely by assisting the office with administration.
Mary Vaughan-Jones
Staff Skipper
Mary joined the Trust in 2021 and spends most of her time at sea delivering our voyage programmes to young people. She also takes the lead with training and supporting our volunteer Sea Staff.
Mary has just finished racing round the world on a large yacht, and previously worked as an instructor in the Middle East.
Naomi Chatfield
Staff Mate
Naomi spent several years sailing as a trainee and relief sea staff, before joining the team full-time as our Staff Mate. Her role is primarily to support our volunteer and relief sea staff in delivering great voyages.
Barry Hampton
Finance Manager
Barry is our Finance Manager and looks after the bookkeeping and financial arrangements for the Trust.
He assists with our forward financial planning and is always looking for ways to improve the way we run our finances together with our data and record keeping.
Ted North
Fundraising Assistant
Ted has held senior leadership positions at numerous charities and organisations over a distinguished career in outdoor education, and led MST for ten years until his retirement in 2017.
Never one to sit still, Ted continues to use his fundraising expertise to help ensure we have the resources we need to run our programmes.
Graham Sykes
Ambassador
Graham has been a supporter of the Trust for most of it's existence, and sails as a volunteer relief mate. As Ambassador for MST, his role is to help us in our mission by telling people about what the charity does.
Graham is a priest in the Diocese of Oxford, and has sailed everything from a Mirror dinghy to a 200' tall ship!