{"id":7437,"date":"2026-04-24T14:31:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T13:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/?p=7437"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T11:41:04","slug":"what-meeting-an-old-sailor-taught-me-about-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/features\/2026\/04\/24\/what-meeting-an-old-sailor-taught-me-about-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What meeting an old sailor taught me about life"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>by Valentina Negrea.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It may be behind us, but I suspect I\u2019m not the only one whose mind is still anchored at Aberdeen\u2019s 2025 Tall Ships festival. With more than 400,000 people gathering for this celebration, for me the true magic came from the conversation with visitors and crew members from every corner of the world. It was a privilege to hear their stories and share in the excitement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"bbmqmXfWeV\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/features\/2025\/07\/22\/malcolm-miller\/\">Malcolm Miller: a schooner\u2019s journey through time<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Malcolm Miller: a schooner\u2019s journey through time&#8221; &#8212; The Gaudie\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/features\/2025\/07\/22\/malcolm-miller\/embed\/#?secret=kpK6iJBU2n#?secret=bbmqmXfWeV\" data-secret=\"bbmqmXfWeV\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I am deeply grateful to the Tall Ships organisers and to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Gaudie<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> team for trusting me with this opportunity. The whole experience has stayed with me, but one moment stood out above the rest: interviewing Mike Dixon, organiser of the Tall Ships festival in 1991 and 1997.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mike is a remarkable individual whose life embodies dedication and service. After more than 20 years in the Merchant Navy, he ultimately earned his master\u2019s certificate before moving to Aberdeen to work as a management and leadership training advisor. The role regularly exposed him to new development programmes, but the one which stood out most was a Management Training Voyage aboard the Malcolm Miller in October 1989, an opportunity he seized immediately.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A late-night conversation with the ship\u2019s captain as it sailed across the English Channel proved pivotal. Mike learned that the course organiser, Sail Training International, was looking to onboard volunteers, especially those with a master\u2019s certificate. From that moment, Mike committed himself wholeheartedly to the non-profit sail organisation. He completed multiple voyages, and two years later when the Tall Ships arrived in Aberdeen in 1991, Mike played an active role with the liaison team. He eventually became Scottish chairman of Sail Training International, and later a trustee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">His contributions were never driven by recognition or reward, but by a genuine desire to uplift others, helping young people discover resilience and teamwork. Mike\u2019s story is one of humility and purpose, a testament to the profound impact of volunteering and a life spent empowering others with unwavering generosity and heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mike\u2019s interview is one I wrestled with for a long time. Every attempt to translate it on the page felt too small for the life he has lived. So rather than trying to summarise it all, I\u2019ll let Mike do it for me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What was it about that 3 a.m. conversation with the captain that made you decide to volunteer?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI had no previous knowledge of the schooners beyond being vaguely aware of their existence.\u00a0Certainly, no concept of how they were manned with a mix of full-time staff and volunteers.\u00a0 I had only been onboard for a few hours but was already impressed with the set-up, particularly as the volunteers were made very welcome and were certainly not seen as second class members of the crew.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI had been away at sea for over 20 years, and volunteering for anything was just not on my radar.\u00a0 Now that I was permanently ashore, volunteering for \u2018something\u2019 seemed to make sense, not out of a kind of principle or duty, but looking back, I suppose it was more along the lines of \u2018giving something back\u2019.\u00a0 So here I was, at three in the morning where all the half-formed thoughts came together, volunteering, ships, sailing, youngsters, something I could actually do.\u00a0 And, as the saying goes: the rest is history!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Looking back at all the volunteers you have worked with, what do you think is the key quality that drives people to dedicate their time to an organization like the STI?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI\u2019m sure there is a tiny majority of volunteers that hold the view \u201cWhat\u2019s in it for me?\u201d\u00a0 or \u201cIt\u2019ll look good on my CV\u201d.\u00a0 But ignoring them, to me, the over-riding quality is that by volunteering, you are putting the needs of others first and foremost.\u00a0 How you achieve this varies enormously from the environment in which you find yourself and the people you are interacting with by using your knowledge to help individuals overcome their fears and insecurities.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cMy other experience of volunteering is more pragmatic.\u00a0 You won\u2019t get rich!\u00a0 In fact, you\u2019ll be considerably poorer. \u00a0Not once did I receive any remuneration for what I did.\u00a0 And perhaps that is fundamental to volunteering. \u00a0If you are willing to take the financial hit, then you\u2019ll be very sure that it\u2019s going to make things worthwhile.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What do you think is the most important lesson a young person can learn from a voyage on a tall ship?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here, Mike gave me a list: self-worth, teamwork, vulnerability, determination, acceptability of the rough with the smooth, companionship and friendship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>If you could leave one message or piece of advice for the next generation of volunteers or young trainees, what would it be?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cDo it; maybe not while you are \u2018growing up\u2019, but that can work too.\u00a0 But make room in your life for some sort of volunteering.\u00a0 The rewards are truly inspiring but will be largely unrecognised. \u00a0That doesn\u2019t matter, it\u2019s what you feel inside that counts.\u00a0 You gave up some part of your life to help others.\u00a0 That\u2019s a special feeling which no-one can take away from you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Thank you, Mike, for your time and for the example you set! We all have something to learn from your life; whether we are part of the maritime world or not.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Valentina Negrea. It may be behind us, but I suspect I\u2019m not the only one whose mind is still anchored at Aberdeen\u2019s 2025 Tall Ships festival. With more than 400,000 people gathering for this celebration, for me the true magic came from the conversation with visitors and crew members from every corner of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":7438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":12,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[322],"class_list":{"0":"post-7437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-features"},"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Valentina Negrea","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/valentina-negrea\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG-20260423-WA0005-225x300.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/s\/features\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Features<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Features<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 4 months ago","modified":"Updated 4 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 24 April 2026","modified":"Updated on 27 April 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 24 April 2026 14:31","modified":"Updated on 27 April 2026 12:41"},"featured_img_caption":"Photograph of Valentina Negrea and Mike Dixon by The Gaudie ","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7437"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7447,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7437\/revisions\/7447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7437"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=7437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}