Or start at the beginning with;

Matt and Lizzie have been living and working on Disco Inferno for over 6 years, prior to that Matt ran the business for racing and race training plus some yachtmaster instruction. Most of the work meant long nights at sea in the winter months on the Solent, great for the pupils but disastrous for Matt's suntan.

It was obviously way too cold to live aboard in the UK, so we lived in a flat like regular people and commuted to work, arrrgggghhh. The decision to live aboard and make this a full time occupation for the two of us came easily, the palm trees, white sand and beautiful warm waters of the Caribbean beckoned and we decided to go for it, make Disco Inferno a full time business & take Disco 1, the Sigma 33, to the Caribbean as a trial run. It all went perfectly, we had an amazing time and had some excellent results in some of the regattas, wow what a place, how could we not go back.

With all this knowledge, we had to carry on the Disco legacy and that is when Disco Inferno 2 was born in the summer of 2002. Disco Inferno 2 was a big funky Beneteau 47.7 & the perfect vessel for some awesome cruising and racing weeks in the Caribbean, Med & UK. Then in 2007, we had the delight of watching the birth of Disco Inferno 3 at the CNB yard in Bordeaux, France, a stunning Bordeaux 60, which is where we are at the moment in the story. Hard to believe but we haven't had enough of this lifestyle yet, if you want an amazing holiday racing or cruising we are the ones to deliver just what you need, serious racing, serious fun.

 

Matt IS Disco Inferno. From the first days of the name when Matt & his University buddies sailed Sunsail regattas as Team Disco Inferno, through to the fantastic little Sigma 33 and 3 years of hot Solent one-design racing, then off to the Caribbean and the bigger faster Disco Inferno 2 and now on to the Bordeaux 60, Matt has been the instigator of the funkiest teams in the most amazing regattas around the world.

Matt started sailing at the age of 10 in dinghies at a local sailing club near Rickmansworth, he quickly got the bug much to his Dad's delight (not!) and purchased his first dinghy, an Enterprise. Dinghies came and went and Matt owned and raced a Cherub, Merlin Rocket, 3 National 12's, an International 14, an International Moth and a Laser, he raced both at club and National level before taking the RYA dinghy instructors exam in 1990 and headed to Turkey to work for Sunsail. Two weeks into the season a job came up as yacht instructor in charge of Sunsail's 6, 29ft yachts, Matt had done a little yachting so blagged his way up into the job. This was the start of it all, he loved yachting and spent 2 years teaching yachting to Sunsail customers, running a flotilla and bare boat skipper& deliveries before returning to the Solent in 1992 to take his RYA Yachtmaster exam and get stuck into a bit of racing.

A Sigma 33 was the first ride along and with Matt as spinni trimmer the team had many wins in this very competitive and huge (50+ boats) class. Having made some excellent friends (one notable one is Bob who still sails with Matt & the Disco Crew today), Matt moved into One-Design keelboats taking in a competitive Cowes fleet and also doing 4 UK National Match racing championships, plus being on the crew sparring with & helping to train the UK's legendary two times Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson in Match Racing. Offshore racing then beckoned and Matt joined the crew of Serendip owned and skippered by RORC Vice Commodore, Paul King, for a few seasons including the Fastnet. Serendip with Matt as trimmer and offshore helm won many events including the prestigious RORC trophy for best production boat in the series.

It was after Serendip and a break to complete a degree in Law that ownership became the next step. The Sigma 33 was purchased in 1999 as a fun boat to compete in quality regattas. Matt has always sailed with friends and customers and despite not having a rockstar crew started to get Disco up to the front of many competitive one design fleets. Over the years Matt skippered 4 fastnet campaigns and numerous inshore regattas on Disco 1 & 2. Now along with wife, Liz, Matt is skipper and helmsman of Disco Inferno 3 & continues to excel in getting a scratch crew of charter guests together as a team and in with the money at the right end of the fleet. It's this ability along with a calm, fun attitude to racing that keep the crew coming back for more & more of the Disco experience. Matt over the years has sailed over 150,000 miles, has an Ocean Yachtmaster Instructor ticket commercially endorsed for Category zero (Ocean) and still loves nothing more than getting out there in the midst of a crowded start line in 20knots of breeze, nail the pin end, flop onto port and cross the fleet, that's what its all about!

Liz, Lizzie, Fluff, Fluffy is Mrs Disco. From the moment she first stepped onto the Disco, she knew that it was a turning point in her life. Introduced onto the boat by Nick FB who had been at Uni with Matt and she had worked at a USA summer camp with. Matt & Liz were a match made on the dance floor.

Liz now aged 31 has sailed dinghies from an early age, in and around her home town of Southend in Essex with the Sea Cadets. Liz went to the USA in 1996 & 1997 to work as a dinghy instructor for Camp Kiniya and Blue Ridge summer camps teaching children aged from 5 to 16. Following completion of a degree in Business and Tourism she continued sailing this time on larger yachts where she learned to be a competent skipper/crew in her own right and a valuable racing crew member.

With now over 70,000 nautical miles yachting experience, she has raced and cruised yachts continuously for the past 6 years. Liz is an excellent chef and can muster up a great meal for a hungry crew in the smallest of galleys even when tilted at 45degrees!! If you are lucky enough to join Disco for a Caribbean or Med cruise then the highlight is the fantastic candle lit dinners in the cockpit enjoying one of Liz's amazing dishes while the Disco bobs around at anchor and the stars come out, one of the World's finest restaurants.

Liz's personality is outgoing and bubbly, she loves working on board the Disco and enjoys meeting people. Having studied tourism & business at university she is doing something she always dreamed of and that really shows through in her enthusiasm.

Her roles on Disco see her doing a whole range of different things, from organising the racing crew's week social programme, to making sure there is enough tea and hot chocolate for those cold nights at sea. The Disco certainly keeps her busy and is her excuse for enjoying an early night or two. If she asks for a rum, make sure its a large one!

On the race course she generally hovers around the middle of the boat, she is a great tutor and runs the pit, keeping an eye on the newcomers and keeping the rockstars in check, and everyone working as a team plus being the the communication bridge between the foredeck and boys at the back, its a tough demanding role and asks a lot of Lizzie but she is a great sailor and a real asset to the Disco regatta crew.