International Evening - 6.30 for 7.00 - Speaker Paul Galloway

PLAIN SAILING OR NEVER STOP LEARNING

A 10 year old boy pushes out a boat on his native Norfolk Broads and begins a life time adventure at sea.

Paul Galloway and his wife Eve joined members of the Club at its second International Evening of the current Rotary Year at the town's Dining Rooms. Paul's gift of storytelling held his audience spellbound. From sailing from the port of Ipswich or 'messing about boats' in Cornwall to honing his skills off the coast of Spain and Portugal, Paul became the intrepid sailor that led him to an around the world voyage.

His over three year adventure, with 'legs' as short as 6 weeks or as long as 5 months, led to the wonders of nature but also the dangers of the modern world. He braved the Red Sea and saw the pirates off Eritrea; he met vegetarian sharks and not so friendly ones; he swam with sea lions in the Galapagos islands; he swam many metres to meet the penguins. In Borneo, he sat at table with a giant orang-utan! There were dangerous moments as when a spar line caught around the ship's screw and caused serious delays. The need to be aware of pirates in the Gulf or as far as Venezuela gave Paul and his crew an edge to their epic voyage. Asked to say which was his favourite spot and moment, our visitor did not hesitate to say, "Polynesia and the sound of beautiful voices, singing hymns on a Sunday morning.

Paul's one message to his Rotary hosts was, "Never Stop Learning".  With that sailor's inspirational talk, we hope we don't.

Don Howard