How to Flower
This week we speak to avid yachtsman from DBYC Morgan Flower. Morgan is a student living in Fremantle who has spent almost as many hours on the water as he has on land growing up around yachts. Growing up in the picturesque coastal town his official membership with DBYC started in 2005, yet like many of us, the affiliations with our beloved clubs go back even further.
Morgan recalls the club’s inaugural members sailing out of a makeshift tent ‘clubhouse’ for over a decade before the permanent structure was built in 2010. “The DBYC has been a huge part of my childhood and has given me my lifelong passion for sailing” Morgan shared.
Morgan started sailing with his father on a GP14 a 14ft double handed dinghy design by British Naval Architect Jack Holt in 1954. Progressing to Mirror and Splash dinghies through one of the clubs first Junior Sailing courses, Morgan realised that racing, although fun, wasn’t his true passion. This is where Morgan’s cruising lifestyle began.
Nostalgic to his sailing roots, Morgan spent the next two years tenderly resurrecting a GP14 he found rotting away in a paddock and enjoyed many years of memories aboard his first boat. His first keelboat came at just 14 years of age when he bought ‘Sarnja’, a SpaceSailor 18 designed by WA icon Kim Swarbrick. His goal of living aboard and solo sailing was one step closer.
Although ‘Sarnja’ holds a tender place in his heart his ambitions couldn’t go unanswered. He found a 1983 Duncanson 35 Cutter Rigged Sloop in South Australia and the ‘Emigre’ adventures were born. So, for over a year now this live aboard fulltime university student has sailed over 2,000 nautical miles around Geographe Bay and the greater WA coastline, whilst holding down a part-time job.
‘Emigre’ partakes in both cruising and racing, including the 2019-20 FSC Valmadre Series with WA solo sailing icon Jon Sanders as navigator. Morgan’s annual highlight is the FSC Quindalup Cruise where he returns ‘Emigre’ to her home waters in front of DBYC for a few weeks of cruising in convoy with the fleet.
“Frankly without him, DBYC would fall apart. He has literally been part of the club since he was a toddler and gets things done with a maturity most blokes his age would admire” DBYC Senior Rear Commodore John Lethlean recalled. “He’s heavily involved with Jon Sanders and even flew to Mauritus to do some work whilst he was in port a few months back”. Mr Lethlean concluded.
Morgan continues his work with the club as Secretary and committee member for the past years whilst he plans his own solo circumnavigation of the globe. Visit sailingyachtemigre.com to follow Morgan’s adventures. Safe sailing young man.
