At SisterShip Training, it really is all about you.
But to understand how and why we teach the way we do, it helps to know a little about us.
We are a husband-and-wife team who have spent most of our adult lives on the water. Recreational sailing, commercial work, training others, and learning the hard way ourselves have all shaped how we see seamanship, safety, and confidence on board.
We believe boating should feel achievable, not overwhelming.
Learning built from real experience, not generated content
Everything we teach is based on lived experience.
We do not use artificial intelligence to create our courses, lessons, or training materials. Our content is written, taught, and refined by us, drawing on decades of time at sea, thousands of real decisions made offshore, and years of working directly with students.
That matters to us, because boating is not theoretical. Judgement, context, and practical understanding are learned through experience, not automation. What we teach reflects what has worked for us in real conditions, on many different boats, in many parts of the world.
Our shared approach
Between us, we bring together recreational and commercial perspectives. We have sailed for pleasure, worked professionally, taught in formal settings, and supported people who simply want to feel more capable on their own boats.
We teach fundamentals first. We explain the “why,” not just the “how.” We take complex ideas and make them practical, so people can apply them with confidence rather than memorising rules.
Over time, we have seen that this approach not only improves safety, it transforms how people feel on board.
Jackie Parry
Jackie is a commercial skipper, instructor, author, and sailor. After sailing around the world with her husband Noel, she went on to qualify as a commercial skipper and marine rescue skipper, and later became an instructor for both professional and recreational courses.
She has written practical maritime manuals, best-selling memoirs, and articles for nautical publications, and regularly speaks at boating and literary events. Jackie also hosts podcasts and creates educational content aimed at helping people turn cruising dreams into achievable, well-prepared realities.
Her teaching style is calm, encouraging, and grounded in real situations. She understands what it feels like to be new, uncertain, or overwhelmed, because she has been there herself.
Noel Parry
Noel is a marine surveyor, commercial skipper, and former maritime teacher with decades of experience across a wide range of vessels and waterways. His background includes commercial operations, training at professional levels, and extensive offshore and inland sailing.
Noel brings a deep understanding of navigation, weather, passage planning, and boat systems, paired with a practical ability to explain complex ideas clearly and simply. His focus is always on helping people understand what is happening and why, so they can make better decisions for themselves.
Experience that informs, not intimidates
Together, we have:
Circumnavigated the globe one and a half times as recreational sailors
Logged tens of thousands of nautical miles offshore and inland
Worked and taught in both commercial and recreational contexts
Trained skippers at many stages of their journey
We share this experience not to impress, but to support. Our goal is to help others build the skills and confidence they need to enjoy boating safely and independently.
Why we do this
We have seen too many people give up on boating not because they lacked ability, but because they lacked clarity and confidence. We have also seen how quickly things change when people understand the fundamentals and feel supported.
That is why SisterShip Training exists.
To teach real skills, in a practical way, for real people on real boats.
After nine years of sailing around the world with her husband Noel, Jackie qualified as a commercial skipper. She is a Master 5, holds Master 4 qualification, Marine Engine Driver 3, ex-Marine Rescue Skipper (one of the first women in NSW), and current Instructor of professional and recreational level courses.
She’s a Cert 4 Trainer, commercial skipper, recreational sailor (ocean sailing and inland waterways on sailboats and motorboats), Author of practical maritime books/manuals/best-selling memoirs/articles, and Speaker at nautical and book events.
She founded SisterShip Training in 2019. She’s continued to write, freelance, for many different publications for over twenty years.
When time permits, she gives talks, hosts two podcast shows (Turning Your Cruising Dreams into Reality), and, (Cast Off with Confidence), creates tutorial videos and supports other sailors and writers.
Jackie has spent three years in the French and Belgium canals helping Noel renovate their 18.5 metre Dutch barge, trail ridden with five horses, sailed the Pacific Ocean twice, traversed The Great Loop in America and set a sailing record as co-skipper of the first double-handed all-women team in the Melbourne to Hobart race.
Marine Surveyor, Commercial Skipper/Professional Mariner (Master 5 (24m), Master 4), ex-Marine Rescue Skipper, previous TAFE Maritime Teacher and current Instructor of Professional Level Courses (Navigation/ Passage Planning/Weather). Cert 4 Trainer, Recreational Sailor (ocean sailing around the planet, inland waterways, sailboats and motorboats), with Jackie (as above).
