Coach Pete
Peter Linford is an experienced maritime professional, sailing coach, and educator based in Auckland, New Zealand. Holding a New Zealand Certificate in Domestic Maritime Operations (Skipper Restricted Limits) with 24m and passenger endorsements, he brings a breadth of on-water expertise spanning sailing yachts, powerboats, and ferries.
Currently a Nautical Lecturer at Manukau Institute of Technology and Skipper at Ocean Groove Cruises and Explore Ltd, Peter has spent the last decade building a reputation as a skilled skipper and highly effective instructor. His most formative role was six years as Learn to Sail Manager at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (2017–2023), where he grew the sailing school from 100 to 400 students per year and pioneered a hybrid online teaching model that significantly improved student outcomes. A career highlight came in 2018 when he coached the New Zealand Invictus Games team.
Peter is a qualified IYT Coach and holds Yachting New Zealand coaching certificates across dinghy, keelboat, and race coaching disciplines. He has delivered everything from beginner sailing courses to Bareboat Skipper and International Certificate of Competence (ICC) programmes, and has completed vessel deliveries along the New Zealand coast. He is also certified in inclusive coaching through the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation, reflecting a commitment to making sailing accessible to everyone.
Before his maritime career, Peter spent over a decade as an engineer in the UK designing high-capacity industrial machinery, and later worked as a self-employed mortgage adviser in both the UK and New Zealand. An active sailor himself, he competes in club racing and has represented his region in the New Zealand Laser Nationals and multiple OKI 24-hour races.
Peter is known for his calm professionalism on the water, his ability to build rapport with students of all backgrounds, and his genuine passion for sharing the sport of sailing.
Coach Steve
Stephen Plank is an experienced yacht skipper with over 30 years of sailing and more than 20,000 nautical miles logged across New Zealand waters and the South Pacific. Based in Auckland, he currently skippers a Stevens 47 out of Cracker Bay Marina.
Stephen’s offshore résumé includes a 5,000nm South Pacific expedition as skipper aboard S.V. Close Encounters, taking in Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia, as well as a 1,500nm circumnavigation of New Zealand’s North Island as part of the SSANZ Round North Island Challenge in 2023.
He has also competed as skipper in the Auckland to Bay of Islands Coastal Classic Yacht Race on five occasions.
Holding a current Skipper Restricted License, along with certifications in ocean medicine, sea survival, and radio communications, Stephen brings both the technical credentials and real-world experience to handle extended blue-water passages, competitive racing, and everything in between.