STI conference report and JST Watchleader appointed new CEO of STI

Hello everyone.
I have just come back from the Sail Training International (organisers of The Tall Ships Races) annual conference in Toulon where there were over 350 delegates from the 24 member nations of Sail Training International (STI). I know it won’t surprise you to hear that it was an uplifting and inspiring event where I was approached by so many country representatives who said that your JST is held in the highest regard for our work and that these countries are desperate for us to visit – but more on that in a minute.

I was invited to the conference to speak about accessibility and inclusion at Tall Ship Race events and I gave a presentation alongside a charming man called Hasse Olsson from Halmstad, Sweden, who organised the first fully accessible TSR event in that city last Summer – sadly we were unable to be there and Hasse did not let me forget it! Over 400,000 people visited the event over 2 days, and his success in creating a truly accessible event has created a lot of interest in the ports of Cadiz and Lisbon, 2 of the host ports for next year’s races in which Nelly will take a full part. Also, I believe Hasse has been asked to visit there and help them create an equally successful event and the new CEO of STI - our very own Watchleader Peter Cardy (shown in the picture) - intends to have the full report from Halmstad translated from Swedish so it can be available to all the member nations.

Alex Lochrane, JST CEO

STI Press Release:

The new appointed CEO of STI, Peter Cardy, is currently Chief Executive of the charity Aquaterra and is also a former Chief Executive of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). He joins the Sail Training International team at its offices in Gosport, England, at the beginning of January 2012.

Peter has an MSc in Social Policy and a BA in Social Theory and Politics. His career began in adult education and then moved into general management. He has been the Chief Executive of several major charities, and in his current assignment with Aquaterra he has a staff of 350 and runs a budget of £14million. His career has also given him international experience, and current volunteer appointments include: Patron of the Sea Change Sailing Trust, a member of the RYA Government Affairs Committee, and Visiting Fellow at the Cass Business School, City University (London).

Peter’s first sail training experience was at the age of 15, since then he has undertaken countless voyages on sail training vessels of all sizes. He has been a volunteer crew on a number of vessels and sails regularly with the Jubilee Sailing Trust as Watch Leader.

He has helped Sail Training International in recent years with advice on regulatory issues and other assistance. In early 2010, while Chief Executive of the MCA, he facilitated and joint-hosted with Sail Training International a reception for Flag State Regulators at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation.

"Peter is clearly uniquely well qualified to manage Sail Training International as our Chief Executive and help lead the organisation to further success," says Nigel Rowe, STI’s President and Chairman. "He is well known to us, he is an experienced sail trainer, and he has considerable expertise in senior management roles in the charity sector. He will make a significant contribution to our work."

"I have always admired Sail Training International for its diverse activities in developing and promoting sail training around the world and for what it has achieved over the past decade," says Peter Cardy. "Sail training was certainly a life-changing experience for me as a boy. Working with STI’s Trustees, staff, members and international cadre of volunteers will enable me to make a very direct contribution in the international arena to an activity I love."