John Lowther has the unenviable task of making sure that every tiny cog in the machine that is Galway Bay Sailing Club is ready and waiting for every event. As the club's first full-time manager, a background in hospitality and catering is useful for the social side of things, but sailing is a whole new challenge for him.

Originally from Ballina in County Mayo, John studied hospitality and catering in Ireland and England, where he attended the prestigious Thanet College, which supplies staff to Buckingham Palace. As a child he spent many holidays by the sea, and became a lifeguard at the local swimming pool in his teens. However, he never sailed until he came to work at GBSC.

After working in England for several years, John moved home to Ireland, settling in Oranmore. He first managed Keane's Pub in Oranmore before moving to GBSC.

"Before I came to the interview, I thought sailing was for posh ‘hob nobs'," says John, laughing at the memory. "I was in my new suit for the interview, I arrived in and there they all were in casual gear.

"My vision was of a Phileas Fogg-type, restricted members club, but they do this for the love of the sport, and the amount of volunteer work that goes into it makes it like another full-time job for most of them," he says. "My whole perception of sailing has changed because of this involvement," he adds.

At first John had "no inclination" of going on the water, but that soon began to change.

"Someone gave me notice on a bet on stage with everyone else there, and that's how I started, late in the summer of 2003. I was hearing them all saying how exhilarating it is, and how tough it is. On TV you see the sunshine and all of that but when I went out for the first time, just on the boat, not doing anything, I found that it was exciting," explains John.

After that first trip, he gradually started being given jobs on board, and learning to sail properly.

"When you get back in on land, you just want to go straight back out. The first race I competed in was the King of the Bay series. The boat was in form at the time and I ended up with a 100 per cent winning record in my first two years.

"The boat and crew were great, it just happened like that. I was mainly sailing on Finesse, a Sigma 33, with Neil Quinn, it was a pure 100 per cent fluke! After that I tried to sell my services to other boats but no one was buying!"

Because of John's onshore duties, he doesn't get to race all year round, but he goes whenever he gets the chance.

As for his future in sailing, John would like to "put in a proper long voyage", perhaps a transatlantic trip. "I need a lot more experience but eventually I could see it happening," he says.

The fact that John has a nine-year-old daughter, Niamh, will also keep him into sailing. "It's a bug she's caught – I can buy bits as she's growing up, and when I go on my transatlantic trip, she'll be the one doing all the work!"

For now though, he's quite content with his lot. "I would like to stay here until I'm too old to work anymore!" he says.

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