Meet Michael : Caribbean Sailing Coach

Michael first learned how to sail as a boy Sea Scout on the south coast of England. Growing-up he crewed for his father aboard the family’s 1930’s vintage sloop and then worked his way up through the ranks of weekend race crew on local racing yachts.

During and after graduating university in London, Michael crewed on successively larger race yachts in British and the Caribbean waters until, in 1981, he gained a place in the British ‘Victory’ team preparing for the 1983 America’s Cup. For the following 18 months, he trained on Twelve Metre class sloops ((65 feet long) out of Nassau, The Bahamas and Newport R.I.

The British team ended-up losing to ‘Australia II’ in the Louis Vuitton Cup final — effectively coming third in an event where they don’t give bronze medals! During the regatta, Michael had seen firsthand the mutually beneficial effects of corporate sponsorship of sports and after the regatta  was over (Australia II went on to win it), he joined a New York agency to learn the business of integrating sponsors with the major live events that attract their customers. Sailing became a recreational pass-time again for the next twelve years as his professional life involved arranging corporate sponsorship for live events ranging from 1985’s Live Aid concert to soccer’s World Cup ’94.

In 1995, Michael moved from event sponsorship to internet advertising until the ups and downs of the dot-com industry in 2000 — followed by 9/11 in 2001 — caused him to re-evaluate what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. In 2002, he decided to return to his first love: sailing.

He first joined Offshore Sailing School at their Manhattan branch where, after a few months, he was offered the opportunity to relocate to the ‘charter boat capital of the world ‘the British Virgin Islands as BVI base manager and chief instructor. After nine years with Offshore he left and founded Caribbean Sailing Coach, offering discriminating sailors bespoke learning and charter experiences.

Michael has lived and coached in the BVI since 2002.

Michael Domican’s Sailing Certifications:

RYA Yachtmaster, ASA Sailing Instructor, US Sailing Instructor, NauticEd Instructor.