Staff Profiles

Andrew Carpenter, Boat Manager

Andrew multi-tasks as our Boat Manager and Lead Trainer. With over 17 years under his belt at The Pirate Castle, he brings a wealth of previous experience of narrow and wide-beam craft on both canals and rivers.

Andrew's been a registered trainer for the National Community Boats Association (NCBA) since 2003 and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) since 2002 and has held the MCA Boatmaster's Licence since 2001. He first became involved in Community Boating in 1998 after a varied early career in farming, forestry and horticulture and a childhood around boats on the River Severn. Alongside this he also followed his other passion and became a professional musician, spending several years touring the world with various bands before later training as a cabinetmaker and joiner which he worked at for some years. He continues to play in bands occasionally. His interests include history, natural history, art, politics, and, of course, boating! Email Andrew

Kal Webb - Development Manager

After 10 years' volunteering at The Pirate Castle around her 'landlubber' day jobs, Kal joined the team in 2016 and is passionate about community boating. She's been a skipper on our canal boats since training with us in 2006 and is a British Canoeing Level 1 Paddlesport Instructor. Kal also qualified as a Certified Trainer for the National Community Boats Association in October 2021, broadening our in-house training capacity.

A true water baby, Kal's been living on her own 60-foot narrowboat since 2009 and loves life afloat. Before joining us, Kal was Fundraising Manager for a community regeneration charity, worked on policy and governance at a not-for-profit housing association and even ran an export division for a trendy radiator company! Email Kal

Arta Ymeraj - Charity Administrator

Arta joined The Pirate Castle as Charity Administrator in mid-March 2020 and is our go-to lady for hall hire bookings and office administration. She's been a local Camden resident for many years and her two sons were often at The Pirate Castle when they were younger. Arta' worked in administration for most of her professional life, most recently as Office Manager for a construction/residential renovation company for several years. Arta likes music, good coffee and hanging out with friends and family. Email Arta