Ewen Guy was born in Christchurch in 1933, but not long afterwards the family relocated to Auckland, where his father Osbourne had a senior position with the New Zealand Shipping Company. When Guy’s mother Dorothy died in 1941, he was sent back south to be raised by an aunt on Purau Station, Diamond Harbour, in Lyttelton.
Between 1947 and 1951, Guy attended Christ’s College: “I was very fortunate; I had a lovely education.”
Besides rugby, where he was in the First Fifteen, Guy excelled at woodwork, a craft that would prove more than helpful later.
After leaving college and a year working for Pyne, Gould and Guinness – “a terrible job” – Guy moved back to Auckland to live with his father. Guy joined the ANZ Bank in 1953, married Sue, and over the next decade had four children and bought a house. The Waitemata beckoned, so Guy joined the RNZYS and crewed on . Designed by Arthur C. Robb for Lawrence Nathan, the 19m was built by Percy Voss and launched in 1952. was the pride of the RNZYS fleet for many
