I’ve known Scott since 1998.  By his own admission, when we started on this joint he was a complete novice and had borrowed most of his foul weather gear.  

I could not have found a better companion who was able to give up the time to do this jaunt. Scott is a giant of a man, natural sportsman and perhaps the most affable character I know. His great love is rugby playing for Worcester and during his career, he has never thrown a punch on the pitch.  This is a rare quality especially taking into account the level that he has played at.

He is the type of bloke who can diffuse a situation by words alone and has been a rock of support on the trip so far.  He also has the ability to get to sleep on a boat without question and this has enable us to stay fresh on our watches.

 

One of the things I was criticized on my progression through the RYA certification of competence scheme was that I did too much myself and did not delegate.  This is because I’ve spent a lot of my life doing things by myself and become probably too self reliant.  I also find it difficult to fit into a team.  Because of his nature, I am learning to delegate more and by that I mean not bark out instructions but to ask with purpose instead.  However this will be the limit of my integration into team life.

During the recent rough weather experience, I would not let Scott on deck.  There were two reasons for this: Firstly I needed him to be rested so that when things calmed down he could take over at the helm and I could pass out.  Secondly I did not want him to be put off by being out in the cockpit.  I was quite concerned  and after the big waves was rather shock up.  It was better that I dealt with this myself rather than pass on my anxiety onto him.  Also he would have just got soaking wet and cold for no reason.  He accepted this without question and later confirmed to me that he understood why when he asked “Can I come up”  to be greeted with a short sharp “NO” from me.

In short, with regards to being in my company for any length of time,he is the best man for the job.  My faults are many – stuffy, bigoted, outspoken, right of center and I tend to judge a book by its cover.  There are few that can stomach it in a small space for any length of time.  Scott can and we work very well together.  Bit of a Ying and Yang situation.  Oh and just for the record, we are not poofs.