AT CATZERO, we are extremely lucky to have a number of volunteers who give up their time to support us. To highlight the wonderful work they do for our organisation, during the coming weeks we will be taking a closer look at the people giving their time to help CatZero function. The first of these is retired pensioner Les Hudson, a self-professed “gentleman of leisure” who thoroughly enjoys his role as crew on the CatZero Challenge yacht.
Les has always had a great love and respect for the sea, first learning to sail dinghies and canoes in his hometown of Dover. He joined the Royal Navy in 1971, just three months short of his 16th birthday, as an Artificer Apprentice.
Not quite making the grade for the role, Les transferred and became an ordinary sailor. He specialised in the maintenance and repair of electronic equipment and served on three ships: HMS Ark Royal (RO9), HMS Devonshire (D02) and, finally, twice on HMS Echo (A70). The year Les left the Navy, he completed what he describes as “an all-expenses paid trip to the Falkland Islands”, in 1982. This was the period of the ‘undeclared’ Falklands War, between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The battle lasted from April until June of that year.
Following his decade-long Forces’ career, Les joined Lincolnshire Police, working predominantly in the East Lindsey area until leaving in 2012. The next four years of his life were spent in the funeral industry.
All these positions of employment, much in the service of his country, have given Les a wealth of experience and transferrable skills. He is in the unique position of being not only a Forces’ veteran but a competent sailor as well, which makes him a real asset to the crew of the CatZero yacht, particularly when veterans from our Forces’ programmes join us on the boat.
Les has completed various sailing courses and has obtained his RYA Coastal Skipper certificate. He is also a qualified sailing dinghy instructor and an avid dinghy sailor, in addition to being a very good swimmer and “not bad” at paddleboarding!
Les said: “My sailing experiences include three family holidays skippering a yacht around various Greek islands as part of a flotilla, and I have sailed across the Atlantic Ocean as a watch leader with another organisation that has Challenge 72 yachts, like CatZero’s. I also completed a delivery trip for a sailing holiday company, from Marseilles to Corfu, on a Beneteau 38.
“With CatZero, I have completed 13 long voyages, including two Dutch Dashes, and one Fastnet race. One of the most interesting was when the boat became the plaything for the RNLI, near Sunderland, when they came aboard to try out their equipment and eventually towed our yacht with their Atlantic 85 boat!
“I have also completed numerous day trips on CatZero corporate and taster sails.”
Les began volunteering for CatZero in 2012. He enjoys meeting new people and helping them to learn the ropes on board, an environment that can sometimes be challenging. During the years he has met people from a whole range of backgrounds, and he finds this very interesting. CatZero also fulfils his ambition to continue sailing for as long as possible.
And if this doesn’t keep Les busy enough, he is also a ‘Room Guide’ volunteer for the National Trust at Gunby Hall, near Skegness. This helps to fulfil another passion of his, history, and again, he makes sure he spends his not-so-quiet retirement meeting and talking to as many different people as possible!
We thank Les and our team of fantastic volunteers for the support they give to our organisation. Without them and the skills they bring to their roles, we wouldn’t be able to help as many families, young people, and veterans as we do.
If you would like to talk about volunteering with CatZero and have skills that would be useful to our charity, call 01482 333303.