Story submitted by Peter Morris (Churchill '63):

Soon after I left St. John’s School in 1964 my Father purchased a Contessa 26 sailing yacht called RED DRAGON to get me interested in sailing. I started racing the boat on a regular basis and it proved to be a great experience.

In subsequent years I started sailing on bigger boats and in 1979 I skippered the Contessa 43 FESTINA Quarta in the notorious Fastnet Race. During this event extremely strong winds and massive waves hit the racing fleet and there were many deaths and serious injuries. Fortunately we managed to successfully deal with these extreme conditions and arrived safely back at Plymouth after completing the course, but we started with 10 crew and finished the race with 20 people on board after picking up 10 crew from other yachts we had found in the sea. 

By 2012 I had purchased my own Frers 43 racing yacht called JAGUAR and we competed in many sailing regattas in the Southern Caribbean. Grenada Sailing Week takes place at the end of January every year and I have been racing in this regatta every year (except during COVID) for the last 25 years - see the close racing in the photo above. 

Many years ago I travelled to the West Indies to work on a new Highway Project. One project followed another and I decided to relocate to the Caribbean permanently in 1990 and I am now semi retired and living near Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies. 

Get in touch with development@stjohns.surrey.sch.uk to submit your story!