I grew up on the Orkney Islands, where I could look out over the ocean from my room. I have sailed since my earliest childhood, first on small dinghies. At the age of 10 I became a member of the local sailing club and at 15 I took part in my first sailing camp in Dartmouth/England. The program there included one week of "sail training" on a tall ship. There I got a lot of inspiration and sailing knowledge ... and in me arose the desire to travel a lot.