A former luxury yacht captain will journey back to Hull next week as organiser of a special reunion for the town’s nautical college.
John Clark, 67, has travelled all over the world throughout his marine career and helmed countless commercial and luxury yachts – including one for a well known billionaire. Yet he and fellow 1970s graduates of the Boulevard Nautical School and the Kingston Upon Hull Nautical College have always managed to maintain contact, despite many now living in far flung parts of the globe.
Next week, around 40 of them are set to reunite for the first time in 50 years – and they are ready to share their stories of the exciting times they embarked on following their graduation.
He said: “I initiated the reunion based around a few people I still know from the group. I personally don’t do Facebook but others do and the word spread quite quickly. I was somewhat surprised by the numbers, and I’m looking forward to them gathering.
“I came from a seafaring family and at 13 decided I wanted to go away to sea. I went to the Boulevard Nautical school in Hull, while others went to Trinity House School and many just left their ‘normal’ schools and decided a life at sea was for them.
“Our introduction to life at sea was a two week induction course at the Nautical College in George Street. They taught us what was the sharp end of a ship, the blunt end and how not to fall overboard. Then off we went. For the bulk of the reunion attendees this was 1975. The next 10 years was mix of sea and college time achieving various qualifications along the way. Those that stuck it out largely gained a Masters License, others left along the way.”
John, who now lives in the South of France, said some carried on with their seafaring careers while others switched to become policemen, firemen and even kitchen designers.
(Image: John Clark)
And while the retired captain’s career took him over the world, he still has family in Hull, and he even made headlines in the late 1990s when he brought his most famous charge to the Humber – John Paul Getty’s yacht JPG II. He spent more than a decade working for the famous US industrialist and oil billionaire, who was once deemed to be the richest man in the world.
He said: “In 1985 I changed career from commercial ships to luxury yachts. In 1999 I was the captain on John Paul Getty’s yacht and was fortunate enough to bring it in to Hull. It caused quite a stir and in fact the Hull paper came down and did a piece on me.
“I was Capt of JPG II yacht for 12 years. I knew that side of the Getty family quite well and was one of only 60 people to attend his private funeral on his Wormsley estate. I also attended the one at Westminster Abbey with 2,000 there.
“We were the Hollywood yacht with most West Coast guests, Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Robin Williams and so on. It was a fun time. The Gettys were great and it was a special time in my life.”
The 50th anniversary reunion will take place on Thursday, July 17 at the Kingston Hotel in Hull, and John said many of them haven’t seen each other in over 40 years.
He said: “We are hoping for sunshine and to renew old friendships and tell a story or two. A number of the attendees were from Hull but the majority were not. A lot of the Hull guys still live here, quite a number from afar married local girls and are still here.
“A lot did leave the merchant navy along the way and took on new challenges. I guess the discipline from the merchant navy lead people into the police and fire service but beyond that I am sure there is all sorts undertakings. I guess we will find that out on the day.
“I think it is quite a feat that this number of people will come back together. I think the sea and the merchant navy creates a bond which is indisputable.”
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