Meet the team

Guy’s role is to lead the overall coastal and navigation safety programme. This is to ensure the safety of all vessels within the Canterbury region’s waterways and coastal area, and to ensure the correct environmental protections, process and response to pollution within the coastal area.

Guy is a Lloyd’s Maritime qualified Harbourmaster and NZ Commercial Skipper and is an experienced sailor and engineer. In his spare time, he can be found sailing or surfing in the Canterbury region.

Ian’s role is focussed on commercial shipping, ensuring the technical accuracy of navigation safety documents and consistency with the New Zealand Port and Harbour Marine Safety Code. This role includes work on legislative changes and inter-agency working to ensure consistency of requirements across NZ.

Ian is a Master Mariner with a background in the New Zealand Merchant Navy and is a keen whitewater kayaker and rafter, owning several different boats.

As well as providing expert technical Maritime and Harbourmastering support to the team, Jim's role is focussed on the design and implementation of custom Maritime Safety Systems, with a specialisation on off- shore and non-standard applications.

Jim is a Master Mariner with a background in the British Merchant Navy and NZ commercial shipping. He is a keen recreational boatie, owning a sailing yacht, dinghy, kayaks and RIB for diving.

Tina supports the Harbourmaster to undertake day-to-day Harbourmaster functions for the region, as well as being responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of our Safety Management system and processes as well as our broader ISO9001 system. Tina is also the deputy for the Harbourmaster when he is unavailable.

Tina holds a Master Yachts 3000grt and has spent the last 25 years working at sea and is studying for the Lloyd’s Maritime Harbourmaster’s Diploma. Tina also sails recreationally, and has sailed yachts through the Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean and the US. Other interests include paddleboarding and hiking.

Gordon undertakes day-to-day functions related to recreational vessels. This includes ensuring signage, bylaw compliance, safety awareness campaigns and liason with user groups across the region and nationwide are maintained. This role is important all year round, but particularly during the busy summer period. He has a strong interest in building community relationships and ensuring our waterways are safe for all users.

Gordon has a background with the British Merchant Navy, Australian navigation aids servicing, and NZ Coastguard as an instructor. Other interests include fishing, flying, boating and adventures with the kids.

John’s role is to be the face of the Harbourmaster’s Office out in the field. Whether it’s talking boating safety on the boat ramp, maintaining buoys and signage, or helping communities solve boating issues affecting the local area, John’s friendly easy and open style always helps to get things sorted.

John is a lifelong aquatic enthusiast with an incredible passion for sailing and adventure. His love of the water led him from the lakes of Minnesota, to the sea as a Marine, and eventually to the coastal waters of New Zealand. You’ll often find him sailing around the peninsula or crewing on yachts whenever he can. When not on the water, he spends time with his family or furthering his other lifelong passions of music and martial arts.

Raelyn’s role is to manage the application process for the varying authorisations of the Harbourmaster’s Office – Coastal Team. These vary from applications for reserved areas for on water events, approvals for work on large commercial shipping and mooring authorisations. 

Raelyn has a strong process and finance background and a reputation for streamlining and simplifying process where possible. She has worked with the Harbourmaster’s Office – Coastal Team on previous secondments prior to joining the team full time.

Raelyn also believes being a grandma is far more fun than being a mum.

Emily’s role is to bring all the legislation together and make sense of it. She’s good at working with members of the public and local community to get the best outcome for them and the environment.

Emily grew up near the Catlins; a beautiful coastline, but safer to look at rather than be in. It did however nurture a passion for all coastal animals and a desire to look after and protect them.

Emma’s role is to lead the response to coastal pollution incidents and to ensure there are suitable processes, trained responders, and equipment in place to respond effectively when those incidents happen.

Emma works closely with industry and stakeholders to raise awareness of practices to prevent pollution incidents and is the Regional on Scene Commander for Marine Oil Spills for the Canterbury Region.

Josh’s role is to bridge between the Maritime Transport Act and the Resource Management Act. The role looks at both navigation safety and the environmental risks in the coastal area and abroad. This could include marine farms, wastewater discharges and everything in between.

Josh grew up in the Nelson/Tasman region and spent large portions of time boating and spearfishing. Josh has a passion for the coastal marine environment and the sustainable management of it.