John Percival – UK representative

John started sailing dinghies at the age of 8 and that began his love of the sea. He joined the Merchant Navy at 16, passing his Master unlimited in 1971 and gaining his first command in 1973 – a dredger! That was followed by passenger ships, cargo ships and containers, in fact anything that floated. Some say, he would cross the Atlantic in a match box if asked…

John came ashore in 1976 to work for ARAMCO as a cargo supervisor travelling between Holland and the UK before moving to South Africa in 1981 where he worked as a container depot manager.

On his return to the UK, he entered local government where he stayed for 14 years working as a Personal Officer and lecturing for RYA courses in the evenings.

After much nagging, he finally set up Hoylake Sailing School in 1996 and whilst this keeps him very busy, he is still loves to get away on a delivery whenever possible – power or sail, and size doesn’t matter. He is never happier than when he is on the briny!