60 seconds with Julian van Aalst
Guest User
How old were you when you first stepped on a boat?
I can’t remember, but doing the best I can I recall in June 1953 at the docks in Tilbury ( shortly after the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953) I stepped aboard SS Orion a former troop carrier to migrate with my family (as ten pound poms) from Dublin Ireland to Australia (my father was the pom in the family) . I have an earlier recollection of going sailing with my father (Jack) and my older brother Desmond on a small open sailing boat without an engine or a buoyancy vest off Dun Laoghai (now known as Dunleary), it was windy a rough sea and bloody cold, best forgotten.
If money (and sailing ability) were no limit, what boat would you buy?
What a question!! Possibly a submarine with a gaff rig and only if it was going cheap.
What is your ultimate sailing goal?
Getting back to the beach without having to be rescued in 25 knots + when my opponents (all four or five of them) at the back of the fleet did need assistance.
Tell us the story behind the name of your Laser?
My eldest granddaughter’s nickname “Millie “ (short for Amelia) she is aged 2: when I ordered that name I also included her 3 month old sister “Liddey” short for “Lydia” but the silly buggers (the printers) forgot to include her name. I am about to order “Liddey” so as to avoid a future fuss.
If you could add any ingredient to DBSC's world’s best toasties – what would it be?
If they are the “world’s best” I would not interfere.
What are your second/third favourite hobbies (assuming sailing is #1)?
Annoying the “complaints department” to whom I happen to be married.
Describe what you do for work in less than five words?
I Think.
What is the first international destination you will travel to (once we're allowed) and why?
No bloody idea!! I leave that to the “complaints department”.
What is your favourite TV show, movie, and/or book?
Another stupid question! Hard Talk.