Welcome to Part Two of Out of Hours, our new feature which throws a spotlight on the hobbies, diversions and passions of our staff in their spare time – revealing different sides, hidden depths and alter-egos which may surprise many of our customers.
After taking an adrenaline ride on the steep slopes of downhill racing with Dan Verity in Part One, we embark for life on the ocean waves to see what floats the boat of our Installations Manager, Roger Buxton. A seafarer of considerable experience, Roger has been sailing for over 35 years and for the last three years he has been Vice Commodore at Scarborough Yacht Club. Jolly Roger is no pirate – as Vice Commodore he is responsible for all the club’s sailing and on-water activities and he is expected to become Commodore in March next year. His current yacht, Valkyrie (pictured below) is the seventh boat that Roger has owned.
We don’t want to go overboard with our praise, but Roger’s sailing CV is pretty impressive. He has done over 30 North Sea crossings, including one trip in a boat which, at just 17 feet, was the smallest on record to complete the return journey, raising £3,500 for charity in the process. Roger has taken part in five Round the Island races (circumnavigating Isle of Wight) as well as the Round Britain and Ireland race which – as the title suggests – circumnavigates the British Isles, covering a distance of almost 3000 miles. Scarborough Yacht Club also have an annual race across the North Sea, from Scarborough to Ijmuiden, following the entrance to North Sea Canal up to Amsterdam. In summer they race most weekends around the bay at Scarborough and in winter they race every two weeks.
Roger has certainly notched up some nautical mileage, but it’s not all been plain sailing, as he explains: “With my last boat, Shameless, I was washed overboard on a race back from Whitby in 2011, when the wind got up to force nine. I ended up in the water for over half an hour. I was eventually rescued by lifeboat, and subsequently air lifted to hospital with hyperthermia, but most weekends are more relaxing than that!”
“Sailing is a fantastic sport. It’s man against the elements and enables me to properly relax without thoughts of balustrade and structural glass popping into my head! Sailing is also a very pleasant way of travelling from one pub to another. Scarborough Yacht Club is always keen to welcome new members, so if anyone is interested in joining they can come along and visit us at the clubhouse, situated in the lighthouse buildings at Scarborough.”
Further information about Scarborough Yacht Club is available at www.syc.org.uk
