Harbour Team

Our Team

The Team is made up of Permanent and incremental staff including:

Reception Team

Financial Team

Maintenance Team

Vessel Coxswains

Pilots

Staff are engaged in work throughout the year, the Harbour is attended all year around. The incremental staff support the Harbour during busy maintenance periods, seasonal visitor increases and Pilot work.

Owen Evans

Deputy Harbour Master

Owen has grown up around the harbour, and spent a number of years working as a harbour assistant before leaving to join the Merchant Navy to work as a navigator on ice breaking vessels in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Owen's role is to improve and review the Safety Management Systems so that our users, operators and staff are able to enjoy a safer harbour.

Garry Taylor

Duty Harbour Master

Thirty years in the corporate world of international sales, the health and fitness industry demanded travel around the globe, seeking new adventures and looking to put down roots with a lifestyle change. We invited him to Join us temporarily just a couple of years ago although he did have 10 years of experience in leisure boating, and former ownership of several cruisers. With his wife ‘Sheila’ they embrace the opportunity to explore the East coast. His passion led to his certification as a Commercially endorsed RYA Power yacht skipper. As a Duty Harbour Master Garry will now enjoy indulging his former and professional skills in a life afloat, he relishes and thrives on the challenges whilst out on the water and delights in the opportunity of being able to serve the local community.

Jill Herman

Financial Administration Manager

Having uprooted from leafy Surrey, Jill now enjoys the estuary views and all things nautical. With a background in logistics and advertising she has used these skills to improve customer service and was instrumental in launching the popular Brightlingsea to Wivenhoe ferry service with lunch at the Black Buoy. Outside work she has been known to help crew racing yachts and loves to put her feet up at her beach hut.

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Tracey Barton

Front Desk /Admin Assistant

Tracey was born and bred in Brightlingsea, working in a customer facing family business before joining the Harbour staff. She is a keen equestrian and often uses the Hard to exercise her horses, who also enjoy using the water. She is married to a keen fisherman so often goes out to sea with him on his boat. Her local knowledge is such that there isn't much she doesn't know about the local area.

Nicola Cross

Front Desk /Admin Assistant

Nicola dreamed of living by the sea, a move to Brightlingsea in 2015 realised that dream. She loves walking her dog 'Bob' along the sea front and enjoys all things 'Brightlingsea'. Nicola's background in retail, customer service and social media has ensured that the Harbour's social media pages are well managed. In the summer she qualified as an RYA level two powerboater and loves getting out meeting customers.

Tiegan Smith

Business Adminstration/ Social media Apprentice

Growing up Brightlingsea means it has always been a special place to me. The opportunity to work here especially with some of my family being professional seafarers and my passion for being by the water was a dream come true. In addition to working on reception my role demands that I find ways to communicate using modern methods, however I still like to chat the old-fashioned way, so I hope to meet many of you soon.

Ross Bourne

Head of Maintenance

A Brightlingsea lad with a family history of local mariners, he’s worked on the water since 2016 many of you will be familiar with Ross as one of the local marine engineers, previously employed at French marine motors and Morgan marine. He also has a passion for fire fighting and is an on-call fire fighter.

In his role as Head of Maintenance he leads the maintenance team, maintains the harbour, its vessels and inventory alongside new projects to further innovate and enhance the way our harbour looks and operates.

Glenn Bacon

Maintenance Supervisor

Glenn maintains the assets in the harbour. A natural engineer growing up among engines and sails. He has sailed these Essex waters all his life and has strong affiliations with Brightlingsea Sailing Club and the Colne Yacht Club. A commercially endorsed RYA Yachtsman and power boat, with exceptional boat handling skills. He is no stranger to the race podium at the yacht club in his race challenging Fable which is kept on a mooring in the harbour.

Joe Adams

Estate Facilities Administrator

Joe works alongside Glenn as his number two. A former tradesman he felt the call of the sea and quickly learnt different skills including; boat handling (RYA L2), VHF (Radio User), first aid, Oil spill recovery and customer engagement. A lovely guy, with a smile and a welcome hello before you even see him.

Wayne Morgan

Maintenance Deputy

After a decade in the Parachute Regiment, Wayne moved to diplomatic close protection in the Middle East. Time in these roles involved him being away from his family. Having spent time in the air and on land, the allure of the sea and a desire to spend more time with my family brought him to Brightlingsea. Discipline, adaptability, and a keen sense of situational awareness, deep within have helped him discover a passion for boating and coastal life. He looks forward to new experiences and maritime adventures.

Noah Goodwin

Harbour Apprentice

Island life with his family on West Mersea always included boats, as a youngster sailing at Dabchicks, it seemed obvious that a career on the water was inevitable. Initially employed as a waiter, then later trained and qualified at college as a plumber, the call of sea was too strong to ignore. He is now on his way as a harbour apprentice to being fully immersed in the marine industry and is excited about the future.

Freya Jolly