This site provides information about my professional activities, academic interests, and personal writings about my engagements with the sea.

I am currently (from December 2025) working as a freelance commercial skipper and outdoor educator. I have recently stepped aside from my career as an academic and am returning to my first loves, sailing and outdoor education. In January 2026 I will be embarking on an extended cruise to Stewart Island and Fiordland onboard SV Pathfinder, a Lidgard 42, that Nicole and I own with another couple. I will provide periodic updates via the Reflections section.

My undergraduate qualifications were obtained from The University of Otago, New Zealand. I received my PhD (in the field of Education) from the University of Queensland, Australia.

I subsequently worked at Monash University (2002-2004). I then returned to New Zealand and worked as an Instructor and Duty Manager at Outward Bound. In 2007 I returned to academia and took up a Senior Lectureship in the Faculty of Education, The University of Waikato. In 2016 I left the university to take up the General Manager’s position at Coastguard Boating Education in Auckland.

In July 2020 I joined AUT as Associate Professor Outdoor Learning. In January 2024 I moved to a fractional position at AUT to reduce commuting from my home in the Bay of Plenty (a 3 hour drive). This allowed me more time to pursue other opportunities; including contract skippering, working for the NZ Sailing Trust, and running professional development workshops on Fatality Prevention for Education Outdoors New Zealand (see Fatality Prevention section).

Recent works include edited books, The Ocean, Blue Spaces and Outdoor Learning (Brown, Routledge,  2024) Living with the sea (Brown & Peters, Routledge, 2019), Seascapes: Shaped by the sea (Brown & Humberstone, Ashgate, 2015) and the co-authored book Adventurous Learning (Beames and Brown, Routledge, 2016).

I have worked for Outward Bound in both Scotland and New Zealand. I was employed in sail training in the UK (Ocean Youth Club) skippering 68-72 ft yachts around the British Isles. I am currently a skipper for the NZ Sailing Trust and have the privilege to lead groups on Steinlager 2 and Lion NZ. I have had extensive experience in the education and not-for-profit sectors at operational, management, and governance levels. I have published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. I have an interest in how people learn in outdoor and marine environments and how this shapes identity and ecological action. I have served on the board for three not-for-profit outdoor education organisations.

I hold a number of nautical qualifications including RYA Yachtmaster (Offshore and Ocean, commercially endorsed) and the following NZ Commercial tickets: Skipper Restricted Limits and Master Yacht <24m.

I reside in Papamoa, Bay of Plenty, NZ with my wife Nicole – a professional mariner and experienced sailor.

Contact: pxmikeb@gmail.com