The crew at Skydive Bay of Islands is what makes this an awesome place to go skydiving! From the check-in crew to the pilot, each and every one of our crew make sure you have the best possible experience! One of the most memorable aspects of your jump will be the person who gets you safely back on the ground – your tandem instructor! Our tandem instructors have over twenty thousand jumps and twenty years of experience between them and are trained to the highest level. Our friendly ground staff will look after you before and after your jump, and they’ll be there to help you take it all in when your feet finally touch down again.
Meet the crew!
General Manager/Tandem Master
Andrew has been a tandem master for 19 years, with 4 of those working at Skydive Bay of Islands. He completed his first jump 26 years ago in South Africa, and since then he has done more than 16,000 jumps!
Andrew’s favourite part about being a Tandem Master is that he gets to meet so many different people and be part of their first skydiving experiences.
His favourite memories of being a Tandem Master were when he was able to take his 2 kids for their first skydives.
DropZone Dog/Support Crew
Jamie is a 7-year-old Staffy and loves nothing more than spending her days at the Dropzone with her friends! Jamie can often be found following Andrew around or tricking our customers into giving her attention and cuddles. Jamie plays a key role in helping our customers feel calm, at ease, and part of the family!
Tandem Master
Before becoming a Tandem Master Maurice worked as a hotel manager back in Ireland. He did his first jump as a tandem customer in Cairns, Australia in 2006. Since then Maurice has completed over 8,600 jumps and been a Tandem Master for the past 7 years.
Maurice loves spending his days helping his customers to experience their first skydive and seeing the joy that it brings them.
His favourite memory was when he took his mum for a skydive!
Camera Flyer/Packer
From the moment Claire did her first tandem jump in 2014 she knew that she wanted to work in the skydiving industry!
Claire moved to New Zealand and enrolled in Skydiving School in January 2016. During her training, Claire came to work at Skydive Bay of Islands as a student and has now been part of our family for the past 4 years.
Claire’s most memorable jump was when she filmed outside camera for her twin sister back in 2016. One of her favourite parts of her jump is being able to jump into the Waitangi Treaty Grounds – this was such a privilege and the views are absolutely breathtaking!
Marketing Co-ordinator/Manifest
After completing her first skydive at age 14, Paige knew she had found a new love for all things adrenaline. However, only after a year of studying law and criminology at Auckland University in 2017, did Paige realise her passion laid out of the ordinary.
In returning back to her hometown of the Bay of Islands in 2018, Paige soon began working for Skydive Bay of Islands, starting first as a manifest/ground crew member. Presently, she has expanded her role in also becoming Skydive Bay of Island’s marketing maestro.
Paige loves the many people she gets to meet every day at work. Her most favourite part about working in a manifest/ground crew role is seeing people’s expressions change from fear before jumping to jubilation and excitement after completing it. In her marketing role, she most enjoys meeting with friendly people, visiting some spectacular locations, and hearing amazing stories from other people in the tourism industry.
At present, Paige has completed two tandem jumps. Her second, which came as a surprise from the SBOI staff members when she first started, made her realise that she had walked into a strong family culture here at SBOI.
Packer/Ground Crew
Gavin did his first jump with his dad back in 2007 when he was just 6 years old! Gavin knew from a young age that he wanted to learn how to skydive. He grew up around skydiving and spent a lot of time at Dropzones, so over the next 10 years, he did 5 more tandems, and then started his AFF course to learn how to skydive solo when he was 16 years old.
Although Gavin loves all his solo jumps, his fondest memory was of his second tandem jump. Gavin jumped as a tandem customer with his dad onto a beach in South Africa, with his 2 uncles also jumping as camera flyers and filming outside camera of the jump!
Gavin has worked at Skydive Bay of Islands every summer since turning 16. He loves the fun, vibrant, and stimulating working environment. Whether he’s on the packing mat or helping gear up customers for their jump, Gavin constantly feels happy to be doing the job he’s doing.
Tandem Master
Before he was a Tandem Master Prashant served in the Indian Army. After serving for 3 years he took early retirement in the rank of Colonel and migrated to New Zealand to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time Tandem Master!
Prashant completed his first jump back in 2007. He has since completed over 5,000 jumps and worked as a Tandem Master for 6 years.
Prashant’s favorite part about his job is being able to make his customers experience skydiving fun, and ensuring they leave with memories they will be able to cherish forever.
Every customer comes with a different energy level and comes with their own personality and story. One of Prashant’s most memorable customers was a 9-year-old girl who told Prashant that she didn’t want to lose her pink Ugg Boots during the jump, and warned him that he would have to go find it if one were to fall off.
Office Co-ordinator/Ground Course
Teremoana graduated from the New Zealand School of Tourism in 2016 with a certificate in NZ Tourism, Certificate in Adventure Tourism, and Certificate in Hotel Tourism.
After graduating from NZST, Teremoana moved to the USA in 2017 where she worked for a season as a Ride Operator at Disney World in Orlando, Florida!
Teremoana has worked at Skydive Bay of Islands for 3 years, starting in Manifest and Ground Crew and working her way up to Office Co-ordinator.
Teremoana loves being able to interact and have fun with our customers every day, as well as being able to have fun working with an awesome team.
So far Teremoana has completed 2 tandem jumps. One of these definitely sticks out as a favourite memory from her time working at SBOI so far – jumping with her cousin for their birthdays in 2019.
- Teish Paton
From the time I stepped foot in the premises the crew were professional, a well oiled machine that worked without fault. My instructor Prashant Kapoor was fantastic, I can’t recommend... read more 
1 April 2022A1066QVdarrenw OMG what an experience first ever skydive it was insane my instructor name was prashant he was fantastic from Start to finish put me at ease took lots of videos... read more
20 October 2022Alexis Chapman I was booked in for the 9000ft and upgraded for only $30 to the 12000ft. Was my first jump and I was nervous! I absolutely loved the experience! Every member... read more
1 April 2022
