GRIN AND TONIC
Ever since I was young I’ve loved the water. Mum and dad called me their water baby because I could dive before I could swim. My boating history goes all the way back too; I’ve had boats ever since I could stand up. I started with an inflatable dinghy and I used to go round the chandleries as a nipper where I’d see a little 8ft dinghy and a Seagull outboard and that was all I ever wanted – anything that floated, you know; I just wanted to get on it and paddle along! Then I joined the sea scouts and they showed me how to do it properly – canoeing, sailing, rowing, the lot.
When I grew up, I had a Hardy Navigator on the Thames. That was great fun. It had a toilet and although it was only 18ft, you could sleep on board. I got into larger boats when a friend of mine, Glenn, bought a 28ft Dufour 2800 sailing yacht. He invited me in when it needed fixing – I had trained as a toolmaker and master pattern maker, which are really handy skills when it comes to renovating boats.
