For our February speaker evening, former Commodore Richard Callaghan had suggested his junior school and mirror dinghy buddy, Nigel Race. Not only does Nigel have that dubious honour but he's also the son of our founding Commodore, Jim, attended the Heart of England School and lived just two doors down from the clubhouse...
Retired from the Royal Navy, where he achieved the rank of Commander, Nigel has spent much of his retirement doing what he loves best, sailing. Having served in The Falklands War he was delighted to be invited to join an expedition in the footsteps of Shackleton led by the legendary round the world sailor Pete Goss, who'd been inspired by Shackleton as a boy.
Sailing on the 77' Vinson of Antarctica, a Skip Novak purpose designed aluminium yacht, the crew left the Falkland Islands for a mere 6-day beat to South Georgia where they awaited a weather window to continue to Elephant Island. Sadly, this never materialised and Pete Goss made the hard decision to return without achieving their objective.
Nigel spoke movingly about some of his experiences during the war and his feelings on returning. He particularly highlighted examples of leadership then, on the current trip and from Shackleton himself. During their week on South Georgia there were plenty of opportunities for the crew to observe the birds and beasts as well as learning more about some of the projects being undertaken to preserve the ecology of "the Galapagos of Antarctica"
We look forward to Nigel's next visit.
