Samantha J Bartlett
Grad. IIMS
RYA YM Offshore (Sail)
Comm. End.
Born in Scotland to a Merchant Mariner and brought up in a small fishing village on the Cornish coast of the UK, Sam travelled extensively as a child, living for months at a time in Malta, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. These early years gave her a curiosity for new countries, for understanding people at a deeper level and, to this day, a hunger for variety in life and a thirst for learning.
This wanderlust has finally taken root on the island of St Martin in the Caribbean, a yachting mecca blessed with a year round tropical climate, stunning beaches and great sailing.
A boat owner and sailor for over 30 years, Sam built her first boat, a 38′ ferrocement sloop from a partially finished hull before sailing her to the Mediterranean. She has been a professional skipper and RYA Cruising Instructor since 1999, and has an extensive knowledge of small vessel structure and systems; manufacturing standards, repair, installation and maintenance. This covers a wide range of vessel brands, including many fibreglass production boats from 28 to 55 feet in length, mono and multihulls.
Educated to degree level, Sam has an excellent command of the English language and also speaks and reports in French. Her written and reporting skills are excellent. She is a quiet but strong and experienced leader who excels in helping nervous and inexperienced sailors gain confidence as part of a sailing team.
Key Skills
- Time management
- Project management
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Web design
- Marketing
- Written & oral communication
- French language
- Book-keeping & accounting
- Spreadsheets & word processing
- Boat maintenance & repair
- Marine system design, installation, maintenance & repair
- Electrical
- Navigation Electronics
- Plumbing
- Heating & cooling
- Sail handling
- Route planning & navigation
- Crew management & training
- Menu planning, provisioning & catering
Qualifications & Memberships
Professional Qualification in Yacht & Small Craft Surveying
RYA Yachtmaster Offshore (Sail) Commercially Endorsed
Work History
Capitaine Sam
Small Yacht Surveyor, Freelance Skipper, Marine Consultant
January 2021 to date
As a result of the travel downturn from the CoViD health crisis, Sam was able to complete a lengthy and intensive Yacht Surveyor’s course under the International Institute of Marine Surveyors. Capitaine Sam is an umbrella for the provision yachting services and expertise on a freelance basis, including Marine Surveys, Freelance Skippering, Marine Consulting, Project Management and Yacht Sales Brokerage.
Club Ibis/Yacht Ibis
Owner-Skipper
December 2009 to date
Sam created Yacht Ibis Caribbean Adventure Sailing Holidays in January of 2010 to share with others the experience of sailing in the Caribbean on a well found vessel for 10 days at a time. She ploughed all her life savings into a Dufour 48 sailing boat, created a website, planned and marketed sailing trips, hosted guests, taught them sailing and boat handling skills and shared the exploration of the Windward and Leeward Islands, the Bahamas, Cuba and Central America under sail. The business grew steadily with the addition of a Beneteau 50 sloop in 2014 with both boats sailing over 3,000 nautical miles each season.
After 10 years of exploring the Caribbean it’s time to begin exploring other parts of the world, and the same ethos of “shared adventures with friends” continues under Club Ibis Sailing. Sam prepares a select handful of exciting sailing itineraries each year in different parts of the world and charters modern cruising yachts to fulfil the demand for each trip.
Freelance Consultant, South East Asia
Project Development & Marketing Strategist
December 2007 – March 2009
Leaving the rat-race again after a 7 year stint and having sold her first boat, Sam spent over a year in South East Asia, travelling in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia in search of new boating and boat-building opportunities. Whilst there she was invited to assist with the development of green energy projects in Bali and other islands in Indonesia, and to develop a global marketing strategy for a burgeoning bikini manufacturing firm in Bali.
Opportunities arose to participate in yacht deliveries in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong, and the Thailand regatta circuit.
Hothouse World (UK) Ltd
Managing Director – Economic Development Projects
June 2001 – March 2007
Returning to Scotland for what she thought would be a brief period before returning to the sailing lifestyle, Sam was hired back into Scottish Enterprise as a consultant on the Motorola and NEC redundancies. She then set up Hothouse World, an innovative small company startup, with her best friend to deliver economic development projects under contract to Scottish Enterprise. The company managed project budgets of up to £5m and grew to a payroll of 10. Sam was instrumental in defining project processes and systems with tight financial controls and reporting standards, and in delivering projects on time and in budget.
Gibraltar Sailing Centre
Cruising Instructor
June 2000 – February 2001
Sam spent a long and most enjoyable season teaching sailing at Gibraltar Sailing Centre, taking novice crews along the Mediterranean coast of Spain and the North coast of Morocco under the RYA Syllabus for Competent Crew and Day Skipper. This included all aspects of maintaining/repairing the teaching vessels and on-board catering.
Whilst in GIbraltar, she also managed the replacement of the diesel engine and exhaust system on her own sailing boat. She cruised extensively in the Western Mediterranean before running out of money in Rome, Italy…
Freelance Management Accountant
Financial Reporting
March1994 – December 2000
During the 7 years following the death of her dad in 1993, Sam was self employed as a management accountant in Edinburgh, developing a wide client base of local businesses and providing consultancy to Scottish Enterprise Business Start-up Unit.
All her spare time was spent finishing the build on her dad’s boat, including planning and installing the plumbing, refrigeration and electrical systems, deck fittings and rigging. She set sail in March of 2000 for the Mediterranean and the promise of a job at a sailing school in Gibraltar.
Scottish Enterprise
Auditor, National Training Programmes;
August 1991 to March1994
Carrying out financial and systems audits on Scottish Enterprise funded National Training Programmes for the youth unemployed.