About Captain Tim

Captain Tim SailQuest Instructor Director

Captain Tim McMahon grew up in the sailing community of Maine, USA. As a licensed US Merchant Marine 200 Ton Master and fully qualified Yacht Training Instructor, Captain Tim has lived and worked on the water for most of his life. Following many years as a busy charter and yacht delivery captain in and around Hawaiian/Pacific waters, Tim spent 7 years living aboard the his own classic yacht “Houhere” and cruising the oceans and waterways of the world.

Settling in Thailand in 1997, Tim operated a live-aboard sail/dive charter company embarking on adventure voyages along the Malacca Straits, Thailand & Malaysian coastal waters and pioneering live aboard cruising into Myanmar and the exotic Andaman Islands. In 2004, Captain Tim partnered up with another local sailing company as operations manager for a fleet of 10 active charter yachts.

This diverse and hands-on experience has provided him with the genuine knowledge of yachts, world cruising and the live-aboard lifestyle which he enthusiastically passes on to SailQuest Sailing School students.

Now, having logged over 250,000 nautical miles, professionally skippered dozens of yachts in charter, worldwide yacht delivery and live-aboard cruising, taken thousands of people out sailing and given personal yachting instruction to more the 1,500 sailing school students, Captain Tim’s SailQuest Sailing School is uniquely suited to teaching new sailors what they really need to know to get the most from the yachting experience.

When it comes time to “Learn to Sail”, there is no substitute for on-the-water experience. With Captain Tim and SailQuest, you can be confident that you will receive the best value for your “Learn to Sail” time and money.

In his own words:

"At SailQuest, we take a personal interest in every student and make a big effort not only to teach them how to sail, but also how to use that knowledge to advance their sailing goals, whether that may be yacht chartering, crewing on a world cruising yacht or being able to make informed decisions when it comes to yacht ownership.

SailQuest students have a solid understanding of yachts and the realities of the sea and therefore are able to get the most from the yachting scene and lifestyle."


Read some articles about Captain Tim & SailQuest: