Richard Tudor from Pwllheli has twice captained a yacht in the Round The World Challenge, and has been a great supporter of sailing in North West Wales over the years.
Both Richard's father and brothers have always been keen sailors, and he had his own little Mirror dingy from a young age. He was also lucky enough to have a sailing club at his school in Pwllheli, run voluntarily by the woodwork teacher, Gwyndaf Hughes.
Richard took part in many schoolboy sailing championships all over Wales, always with the support of his family.
"My parents would have to strap my dingy onto the roof of the car and take me to the competitions. I remember my mum, sister and younger brother sitting on the beach at Criccieth while me and my other brother competed in the local regatta."
By the age of 17, Richard had had enough of working for others and was quite sure what he wanted to do in life. He set up his own business making sails and boat covers, and ran it successfully for 15 years until he decided to give it up to sail around the world.
Richard twice captained yachts in the British Steel Challenge, in 1992/3 and 1996/7. He remembers that emotions could run high on board.
"You could absolutely hate every second, and then love every second. Everyday was different, especially sailing into a different port. I remember entering Rio De Janeiro, and seeing the statue of Christ high above us on the mountain, and all the poverty in the city below.
"Rounding the Cape of Good Hope and seeing Cape Town and Table Top Mountain was also fantastic."
But Richard wasn't so lucky on his third attempt to circumnavigate the globe, with Team Philips in 2000.
"We had a brand new catamaran made of carbon fibre and worth £2.5 million. So of course, something went wrong.
"Seven hundred miles to the west of Ireland, right out in the Atlantic, the boat began to break up. We were only saved by the advances in communication at sea. We were able to arrange a rendezvous with a ship which happened to be passing, on its way to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We all jumped aboard - and just in time. If we'd have stayed just another day, we would all have been killed. The catamaran broke into pieces - a few bits were found on the coasts of Greenland and Ireland months later."
Richard also helps organise the Regatta of Wales, held every two years in August, in Cardigan Bay. He feels that it's a great opportunity to attract all the boats which sail up and down the Irish coast during the summer over to Wales for some high quality competitions.
"There are also demonstrations by local businesses, and entertainment, all with the aim of boosting the tourism industry in a place which is so great for sailing."
Despite having sailed all around the world, Richard's favourite place is still the seas near his home.
"The north of Cardigan Bay is great for sailing. Seeing Snowdonia and Cader Idris in the distance is just amazing. There isn't much commercial traffic, the tides aren't so strong and the wind is quite calm. The sea is also quite shallow, so there is never much of a swell and once the wind dies down, the sea is calm again very quickly. It's definitely where my heart is."
Yacht skipper who's twice circumnavigated the globe.
