Growing up in Far North Queensland, Sam was drawn to the sea from a young age. His mum was involved in the dive industry, and Sam spent many happy days on boats exploring the Reef and the islands. By the time he was 18, Sam was working on prawn trawlers in the Gulf of Carpentaria and knew he’d found his vocation.
Pursuing his dream, Sam headed overseas at 20 to crew aboard superyachts, working for three years as a deckhand on a 50-metre global-cruising Westport superyacht cruising the islands of South East Asia, Komodo, PNG and West Papua, the South Pacific, the east and west coast of Australia then onto South America and the Galapagos islands.
By 22, Sam attained his Master of Yachts 200Gt certification, before moving back to Australia to work in commercial shipping in the Northern Territory.
After a stint in the NT, Sam attended the Australian Maritime College in Tasmania to undertake his Master 45, which is where he met Cooper Chapman and the two of them bonded over their shared ambition and love of boating.
The next step for Sam was assisting with Navigation aboard the 85-metre superyacht from Perth to the Mediterranean where he completed a season.
On his return to Sydney, Sam worked with CHAPMAN as a freelance Relief Captain and by June 2023, the idea of joining the business in a management capacity took shape.
“Cooper and I have the same work ethic. We want the best outcome for the client,” Sam says. “We are focused on supporting owners and their enjoyment of every moment of their time on the water.”
Sam and his partner, Katie relocated to the Gold Coast in May 2024, and Sam now heads up CHAPMAN Gold Coast as Managing Director, running the day-to-day business and operations of the company’s refit and maintenance facility at The Boat Works.
Complementing their expertise and in-depth industry knowledge, the CHAPMAN team has earned an impressive reputation for refit, maintenance and vessel management.
“CHAPMAN is built on genuine passion for what we do, and our level of service is unmatched,” Sam explains. “Our full 360-degree service is based on our commitment to giving yacht owners and crew an enjoyable experience at every stage.”
The CHAPMAN team has the proven ability to project manage, oversee and schedule trades to work to even the tightest deadline and budget.
“Our process from engagement to completion starts with agreeing on a scope of works, preliminary cost and timeframe, then we move into official budget stage, engage trades and tender out to ensure we have the best price. Then once the yacht arrives, we update the owner during the milestones and deliver the project on time and on budget.”
Sam said The Boat Works is ideally located to access quality of trades and services, and a variety of lifts up to 300 tonnes, large sheds and plenty of sunshine.
“It’s the most crew-friendly shipyard, with a Captains’ lounge, cafes and restaurants, laundry and a gym. We are looking forward to a steady stream of vessels from all over the region scheduling refit and maintenance.
“In 2025, our focus will broaden our reach to attracting international superyachts here for service and refit projects, and to enjoy cruising in the amazing areas like the Whitsundays, Sydney, Tasmania and the Kimberley Coast.”