1998 - 2023

In the winter of 1998, after completing university, I travelled to the South of France to seek work on large yachts. After a short search I joined the 68ft San Germani ‘Windrift’ based in the port of Antibes. I spent three months learning to varnish before being invited to join the Swan 651 ‘Favonius’ which was crossing to Antigua to take part in the Antigua race week. 

After completing two Atlantic crossings and returning to Antibes I moved to the 72ft Ketch Ikra 2. With an Italian skipper we completed a very busy charter season around Croatia, Southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica.

In the Autumn of 1999 I was invited by the same skipper to join his new charge, the 89ft maxi sloop PK Boo 2, as mate. We completed another Atlantic crossing and busy Caribbean charter season. I left at the end of the season. I returned to the UK for a short period then moved back to Antibes where I lived ashore and day worked on many yachts over a six month period.

At this stage I was obliged to return to the UK by my ex partners family commitments. I needed a job and found myself working for Marine Projects at one of their Devon sites. I did cockpit fit out but also learned gel repairs, polishing and all aspects of GRP yacht construction. I worked for Marine Projects for around 18 months and eventually left over a pay dispute. At which point I returned to France and found myself a job on the 55m modern classic schooner Adela.

Employed as a ship's carpenter/deckhand I lived and worked on Adela for 2 and a half years. We completed a tour of the Baltic, two tours of the Mediterranean, two Porta Cervo maxi race weeks and a shipyard period at Pendennis. The standard at which Adela was kept is comparable to the highest standards on any yacht in the world. It was my duty to keep her in pristine condition at all times but especially for owner trips. The owners spent around 16 weeks on the yacht while I was employed. The attention to detail, at all times but especially while the owners were on board, was second to none.

After leaving Adela I took up residence ashore in Antibes. I worked as a temp crew on Noble House (55m MY) for a summer season cruising the med. My main duty was driving the large chase boat which followed the main yacht.

I spent the next two years working in Antibes with a local shipwright and then in Cannes with a shore based joinery firm. I learned many aspects of high end bespoke cabinet making and joinery as well as teak deck fabrication and installation.

In late 2010 I joined the 113m mega yacht Al Mirquab in Palma. My role was ships carpenter and I was full time employed by the interior crew fixing all the many problems around the vast and exquisite interior. We crossed the Atlantic and I carried on work all the way across. I managed my own time and projects in accordance with the requirements of the senior interior crew. I left in May the following year at the start of the owners trip and moved back to south France.

After another short trip back to the UK I returned to Cannes and worked on a variety of yachts in temp positions before being invited to join Five Angles (35m classic Feadship) to prepare for the owners summer tour. I spent three months caulking the deck, repairing and repainting the bulwarks and refinishing interior varnish before the owner sent me to Geneva to work on his lake launch. I spent the summer stripping and revarnishing the entire 12m launch in a shed next to lake geneva.

After returning to Cannes I was recruited to assist in recaulking the entire deck of the fife Halloween. Working alongside the skipper we cut out and caulked every deck seam over a three week period. Working on the dock in cannes around the fickle weather

Later that year I was invited to rejoin Shamrock V for a winter refit project. I had raced with the crew many times during the past few years and was a popular addition to the strong team.

I spent the winter working on Shamrock and often spending nights aboard to cover the crew's watches.

The following spring, immediately after finishing on Shamrock, I was invited to join the classic Fife Schooner Altair. After a couple of months of day working I was invited to take the position of Bosun for the coming summer season. After many months of preparation the owners joined the boat. We completed an owner's trip from Naples to Venice. Later that season we raced in all the Mediterranean classic regattas. NIce, Antibes, Cannes and St Tropez.

The following Autumn I was invited to join the J class Lionheart’s winter maintenance team during a refit period in La Ciotat. I actually ran my own team of three and the projects i completed over a five month period included; stripping and recoating the entire cap rail and boom crutch, spraying clear coat on the carbon winch tops, repainting many small areas both interior and exterior, refitting many deck fittings, sanding the entire deck, repairing super structure varnish, repairing many areas of damage in the master cabin and revarnishing the entire cabin plus head and much much more. 

I finished in late March as the yacht left to begin the racing season. Later that year Lionheart won the America's cup jubilee regatta and the J class world cup. All while covered in my work. I took some time off after this.

Later that year I worked in La Ciotat on the 55m Amels Spirit. Again I was employed to repaint many small areas of damage around the exterior of the yacht. I managed my own time and responsibilities and completed all projects whilst working around a tight time scale and often adverse weather.

Early the next year I decided it was time to return to the UK and I established my company RJP Yacht. With my skills and charisma the work flooded in and I was totally unprepared to manage this kind of workload as well as all the other aspects of running a business. My health failed and I had to close the company after three years despite being overwhelmed with work.