YOTI - Key Persons
Born in Sydney, Ian grew up on the Northern Beaches and had his first taste of sailing when his father bought a ‘Vagabond' sailing dinghy which they sailed out of Palm Beach. The passion for sailing was quickly ignited and soon he was racing ‘VJ's' from BYRA on Pittwater, transitioning into ‘505's' as well as ‘Etchell's' and eventually into Bluewater keel boats having completed multiple Sydney to Hobart yacht races.
Trained as an Automotive Engineer, when the chance arose to be able to ply his skills in the marine industry, he grabbed it with both hands. He spent a number of years managing the maintenance of the Skipper A Clipper charter fleet and eventually the import, Sales and commissioning of new boats into the fleet as well as a number of private purchases. That lead to other opportunities in Marina Management and brokerage and the start of a passion for sales.
Having spent several years away from the industry, when the opportunity to join the team at YOTI was presented it was too hard for him to resist. Now being able to combine his passion for sailing, his ability to build relationships and assist YOTI customers with their buying and selling decisions, he brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience to support you along the entire process.
John started racing dinghies in 1959 at Stone Sailing Club on the River Blackwater in Essex. His father built the 3 International Cadets which John raced until the age of 14 when he took over the helm of their Shearwater catamaran (the development cat of its time). At age 20 John became National Champion for 2 years running. He also introduced the spinnaker to the class and designed the spinnaker chute used by any cat these days flying a spinnaker.
John and his wife Hillary have owned and raced several keelboats including a Club 19, Sigma 33, MG335 and a Jeanneau Sunfast 40 which they cruised extensively, including twice around Ireland, trips to the Bay of Biscay and north and west to the Scottish Islands. They have also owned several racing catamarans over the years including an F18 and an A Class.
Following ‘retirement' John held a position as Events Convenor at Largs sailing Club in Scotland, organising both National and International events. John has since been awarded an Honorary life membership to the club.
John is a qualified RYA Yachtmaster. He has managed and maintained a Jeanneau 53 including running skippered charters. He brings a wealth of sales and sailing experience to YOTI and now calls Manly, Brisbane home.
John's passion for the sea has developed from his early years being brought up just along the beach from the yards of the famous Fife yacht builders in the village of Fairlie on the West Coast of Scotland.
Whether it be windsurfing, yacht racing, dinghy racing, cruising or sailing across oceans, John has grown up deeply engrossed in the sailing world and continues to share his passion with anyone who will listen!
One of Australia's most successful individuals within the yacht sales industry, John works tirelessly to sculpt the business and set the trajectory for future growth.
Karyn Smedts joined YOTI in 2012 to assist our team as we continued to grow and expand into additional offices.
Prior to this Karyn spent several years raising her young family whilst working part-time as a bookkeeper.
In her former life Karyn worked in the financial services industry for some 15 years as Operations Manager and Financial Adviser for some of the most respected financial organisations both in Australia and Canada.
Peter joined a local sailing club on the Georges River in Southern Sydney as a youngster which ignited his passion for sailing, the sea and all things boating. Peter's initiation to the marine industry was during his twenties in the form of deckhand and cook position on a Ketch in the Greek Cyclades.
Some international yacht deliveries were to follow including a Trans-Atlantic crossing and some shorter stints both in the Med and the Caribbean.
Peter returned to Sydney where he became a professional skipper on the Harbour and was later promoted through a leading yacht charter company and RYA sailing school to become sales manager of the largest sailing school in the country.
With his almost 20 years in the marine industry, Peter takes huge pride in selling a yacht through YOTI and making what can be a challenging process as smooth as possible for both seller and purchaser. Peter officially came on board as a Director in 2020 to join founders Tim Vine and John Cowpe.
Peter has been directly responsible for well over 200 yacht sales under YOTI. With huge thanks to our awesome Team, Peter is a driving force in helping to take YOTI to the next level of yacht sales in Australia and beyond.
Robert's passion for anything afloat has developed from his early years.
Learning to sail, dinghy race and windsurf in his native Holland, he continued his sailing career across all the worlds oceans, skippering many beautiful large vessels.
High lights were visiting very remote islands of the Pacific, to sailing into Manhattan, New York.
He has worked at naval architect firms, Project managed new build sailing yachts for a top UK boat builder, run the Operations of a Charter firm in the Whitsundays, and now is applying all that combined knowledge, with his colleague's at YOTI, to help clients sell or find their dream vessel.
Stuart started sailing dinghies at the age 8 at Wakatere Sailing Club in Auckland, New Zealand. In his early teens his love of keelboats began, and in 1975 he completed his boat-building apprenticeship. At meagre age of 22 Stuart competed in 1977 Inaugural 2 Handed Around NZ North Is Race and became hooked on Ocean racing.
Stuart's professional career involved running Cavalier yachts in 1989, where he managed the production and design of this iconic brand. In 2000, Stuart moved into Yacht Sales for Beneteau in Sydney and managed the Pittwater office in the sale of new and brokerage yachts.
Until now, he has run a variety of vessels as a professional skipper for their owner and is now enjoying time on Lake Macquarie.
He looks forward to a new challenge running YOTI on the Lake and Newcastle, helping clients in the Lake Macquarie - Newcastle area buy and sell their pride and joy.
Born in Sydney, Tim has grown up around the waterways of NSW and has developed his love of sailing into a business passion. Tim began his sailing career racing and cruising in trailable yachts, then moving into keel boats when his family purchased their Northshore 38 "Sorceress".
Tim has a wide range of experience in Yacht Sales and Brokerage having worked in Melbourne, Sydney and the South of England.
Tim's strength lies in the fact that so many of his clients have become good sailing friends over the years.
As Managing Director for Australia's largest networked brokerage and direct involvement in hundreds of completed transactions, there is no-one more enthusiastic and qualified to look after your yachting needs.