New volunteer and experienced sailor Colin Turner has taken on the role of bosun at Cowes Sailability Club for the 2017 season.
Cowes Sailability Club has appointed Colin Turner as bosun, a voluntary position that involves undertaking the routine maintenance of the club’s boats to ensure that they are safe and seaworthy. Colin is highly capable of fulfilling this critical role, having owned, sailed and helmed a wide variety of boats over a period of more than 50 years.
He says: “I first learned to sail in Port Talbot in Wales as a young Sea Cadet and remember breaking the mast of my dinghy while being assessed for a sailing certificate at around the age of 14! Since then, I have sailed a 44 foot yacht in the Mediterranean and huge square-rigged sailing ships with the Jubilee Sailing Trust. I used to teach children powerboating skills and have owned and maintained yachts of my own.”
Colin moved to the Isle of Wight five years ago and spends much of his time renovating his cottage in the east of the island. He joined Cowes Sailability Club as a volunteer in February 2016 and regularly helmed the club’s crabber Windhover and RIB Zebedee last summer. “I get a great deal of satisfaction from being involved in the club, as it keeps me active and sailing,” he says.