Meet the crew

John Skinner

Farmer, father, and man behind the helm. John was born and brought up on a farm in Easton Maudit in Northamptonshire, and is never happier than when he is working outside in the fresh air. The completion of White Mills Marina could not come soon enough for John, as he thoroughly enjoys meeting new folks and forging new friendships. Beware, he has a host of old (and a few new) jokes up his sleeve - and laughing at his repertoire will only encourage him.

Commenting on the development John says, "Watching White Mills develop has been incredibly exciting. It has taken a long time to get to this point, and now that we have, we are thoroughly looking forward to continue to welcome boaters and boating enthusiasts to White Mills and establishing the marina as a first class facility."

Debbie Skinner

Debbie was born just over the border in Bedfordshire but spent most of her formative years living in the Nene Valley in Rushden in Northamptonshire. The youngest of five girls, Debbie is happiest outside too and again loves meeting people .

What Debbie has particularly enjoyed about the new family venture is the marketing and promotional side of the business and familiarising herself with Social media. These days she can often be found at strange hours at her PC posting messages and making new ‘friends’ on Twitter and Facebook. Debbie says, "Both John and I still have loads of energy and are totally committed to creating a marina that we are proud of. Exciting times are certainly ahead and we are looking forward to seeing White Mills Marina evolve into something very special indeed.”

Sam Holmes

Sam joined the boathouse team in August 2018, after spending several months travelling. With years of experience in the catering industry under her pinny, Sam brings with her enthusiasm and a passion for baking. If you are visiting the boathouse and have a chance to have a chat with Sam, don't forget to ask her about her time as a female rugby player and as a competition sidecar passenger with her father. The words "we were robbed" might well feature in the conversation!

Mel Thompson

Mel joined the Boathouse cafe in December 2021, as our new manager, and has been full of ideas of ways to improve our customers’ experience since day one! With a wealth of knowledge from many years within the catering industry, we can’t wait to see what direction she continues to take the boathouse. Mel has a real drive and passion to succeed and we think that she is a great asset to the team in helping us take the Boathouse cafe to the next level.

Kay Elderkin

Kay joined the White Mills Marina office team as Admin Assistant in November 2019, with a remit not just to get us more organised on the admin front, but also to drive us forward to make White Mills as paperless as possible.

Kay’s enthusiasm, ‘can do’ approach and general willingness to learn about every aspect of marina life has been terrific - and what is more, her efficient manner is certainly rubbing off on us all (well that is what we think!). We are so pleased to have Kay onboard, and we know that everyone who calls into the office will be thoroughly impressed with how calm and unflappable she is!

Dizzy

Introducing Dizzy - our half Jack Russell, half Norfolk Terrier who according to John is half sharp too! She is a dear little dog and is quite simply everyone's best friend. We know you will love her and so we will be checking your boats as you leave, just to make sure you have no stowaways!