Well, Mr Know-it-all, here you are on a very skinny foredeck belonging to 'Athena', a gorgeous racing 8-Metre yacht, owned by a Peer of the Realm, Lord Jonathan of Cork, who has assumed from your Australian accent that you are the very bee's-knee's of foredeck hands, (despite being the oldest person on the boat), and miracles of calm efficiency are expected ! Oh, and did I mention I am nursing a shoulder cuff injury from a previous attempt at biting off more than I could chew.

Although he designed racing and cruising yachts, it was fishing boats that launched his commercial career. The introduction of high-powered diesel engines was a significant change and needed someone able to calculate the power and propeller requirements, along with the best hull shape and construction, if the craft was to achieve its desired performance