A keen sailor and a chartered engineer specialising in the application of computational fluid dynamics, I studied mechanical engineering and gained a doctorate from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

I grew up in the sailing environment at the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club since the age of five when my father became the club steward. I became a member of the yacht club aged eight, learning how to sail initially in dinghies and progressing to keel boats aged twelve. Over the next ten years I crewed on the yacht Extro‑E‑Mist, racing competitively on the northeast coast of England and cruising annually (for three weeks at a time) on the west coast of Scotland. Over the last eight years I have sailed around the Greek Islands, the Thames Estuary and in May of this year sailed from Canvey Island up the east coast of England back to my home club, the RNYC, at Blyth, Northumberland.

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