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Crew Details |
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| Crew Member |
Personal Details |
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Matt Ball |
Matt lives by the sea in Hamble with his girlfriend Anna, who runs the yacht charter company www.1stcharters.com.
Learnt to sail on Toppers and Laser dinghies as a teenager whilst growing up in the Middle East. His first experience of bigger yachts was on his father’s boat ‘The Tank’, named after it’s voluminous qualities and inability to plane.
Since moving to Hamble 2 years ago Matt regularly sails in the Winter and Spring Series, races across the Channel, has delivered yachts back and forth to Scotland and takes part each year in Cowes Week. Matt is very excited in taking part in the ARC and hopes they do very well following all their hard efforts in training. |
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Steve Betts |
Steve has four grown up “kids” with his partner Norma, Simon, Karsten, Sam and Markus (reverse chronological order). After many years sailing “as and when”, he has been working his way up the RYA ladder for the past few years. He has sailed dinghies in Mauritius, crewed a Cat off Cape Town and cruisers in Seattle and the south of England. Did the 2003 Industry Challenge but has been concentrating on skippering cruising yachts, building miles and sufficient varied qualifying passages to take the Yachtmaster practical having completed the theory. Has added many new skills, not least baker, so will be kneading dough for the whole trip. |
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Ian Buchele
'Bushy' |
Bushy has skippered on a variety of yachts from Finot's Open 50's to Challenge Business One Design 72' steel race yachts.
Now a Professional Freelance skipper qualified on both power and sail yachts with a Class 4 Command Endorsement.
This is Bushy's 3rd ARC crossing. He is the only non-Microsoft person and is looking forward to the event and doing it with a great bunch of Microsoft guys. |
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Richard Hughes
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Richard is the youngest member of the crew having come into Microsoft as part of the graduate training scheme in Jan 2004. Now working in the Dynamics product group, he is so valuable that his business partners have sponsored this trip to get rid of him for a month! He has been sailing since he was six; after learning to sail in his beloved Anglesey, North Wales. Most of his sailing before this trip has been in dinghies, teaching children to sail in Plas Menai, the National Watersports Centre for Wales, and racing Optimists (when he was a lot smaller J), followed by Lasers in which he won the UK Laser Radial nationals in 1999.
The ARC is an opportunity for him to “do something extraordinary”, something that he is always attempting to achieve. |
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Steve Leaback
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Steve Leaback, long time at Microsoft, short time on boats. Steve is the crew member who is newest to sailing. Looking forward to learning lots about ocean sailing- so this really is a challenge in at the deepest end! Whilst not the youngest or most experienced member at least he's not the oldest!
Having done some travelling in 2003 and seen some outstanding wildlife in Antarctica, Steve is looking forward to sighting wales, dolphins and other marine life.
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Paul Norris
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Paul’s been around at Microsoft for over 10 years and has been sailing for well over 20. He’s ex navy, an RYA Yachtmaster and Cruising Instructor and a veteran of the infamous Marathon Des Sables race thru the Sahara a few years ago. Married with one wife, one parrot and no rug rats, Paul is afloat for most weekends in the sailing season – Jan thru Dec!
Paul spent almost 11 years with the Royal Navy, serving in everything except submarines (for which he would have volunteered he says – “cuz there was more money for serving under the water than there was for serving on it!!” In fact, Paul says he only joined up in the first place because James Bond was in the RN and seemed to have a pretty good job description and great perks!! |
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Alastair Velzian
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Alastair is married to Sue with two children Becky (11) and Lewis (10). Lifetime sailor in dinghies and yachts. Previous races include AZAB 2 handed, and more than 30 years of club racing and cruising in Contessa 26, Sigma 33/36, Cavalier 28. Sunfast 37, UFO31 to name a few. Spent 4 years in Sydney and raced two years with Sydney Amateurs and two with Sydney Yacht Squadron. Alastair skippered six Industry Sailing Challenges - heat winner 2004, and 4 Round the Island Races. Owned a UFO 31 for 7 years and a Minisail and a Merlin Rocket dinghies for several years. |
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Ken Watson
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Ken lives in Chiswick, London with wife Agnies and son Zachary (2½ yrs). Started sailing at a young age in Western Australia racing Mudlarks and progressed through to the larger dinghy/skiff classes. After a break from sailing in the last few years, Ken has enjoyed preparing for the ARC and getting more on-water time in the last year. |
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