Something about – John Gorrie
I was born in London in 1951 and took up an interest in sailing aged around 12 when I learned to sail in a Flying Fifteen in Poole harbour with my slightly older brother, Andrew.
We managed to coerce our late father, Stanley, to buy an Enterprise dinghy which we raced for some years on a duck pond at Rickmansworth and also cruised around Poole. The dinghy sailing came to an end when Andrew and I reached late teens and started enjoying women and alcohol!
We got back into boats in our mid 20’s but went to the “dark side” with a ski boat followed by a Sealine cruiser. This all came to an end when children’s school fees came into play and fuel prices started going crazy.
I together with my son, Robert, decided to get back into sailing – initially in an 18 foot trailer sailer followed by three Beneteau yachts – the most recent being Gnutcracker IV which is affectionately known as “G4”.
I have been married to June for more years that I care to remember with two offspring, Annabel and Robert.
I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the mid 70’s with Touche Ross (now merged with Deloitte) but have worked mainly in “industry”.
I was given the “opportunity” to retire early in December 2009 but continue with a few small consultancy roles to keep the grey cells operational.