I am very humbled to receive a nomination. I now have accumulated quite some time as an unlimited Captain, yet I retain the same awe of; the yachts, the crews, the community ashore and of course the guests and owners I had on the first day stepping onboard a large yacht.
Before that first day, when I joined as a befuddled deckhand, I had already held titles of; Naval Officer, Tug / Offshore Support Master and Ocean Racer. None of these really helped and I retain pride that I learnt the yachting industry from the chamois upwards and along the way gained incredible tutelage from some wonderful Captains and crews. Many don’t need such a long induction, but I did and benefit from it now.
I was exceptionally fortunate to hold commercial qualifications in a time when they were rare. I was able to turn this into command of some of the most wonderful yachts I could have imagined, these included; OCTOPUS, VAVAII (build Capt), AMADEA (build Capt) and most recently ULYSSES / ANDROMEDA. In the middle I took a break to return to commercial maritime and worked as a marine pilot in an Australian bulk port, back to my roots. I commend all crew to diversify their experience, there are no backward steps if you enjoy the learning.
My passion is now supporting crew in their journeys and I invest significant time into allowing crew to be all that they are capable of. It is now a great reward to see my former deckhands as officer of the watch and former officers as leading Captains. I look to the crew across all departments now and see a community of professionals taking the industry to new heights and I am just lucky to be able to be witness to this and be swept along on this upward trajectory.
The Owners I have worked for have also allowed my involvement in Marine Conservation, community support and Disaster relief. These experiences have been true highlights; I firmly believe Yachts can and do contribute to global concerns and look forward to seeing this increase with a new generation of yacht owners looking for moral virtue in ownership addition to their joy.
