Born in England, John Hughes (70) had his own body shop in Wales until shortly before his retirement. He has lived in Innsbruck for a few years now. He spends most of the summer months on his Sun Odyssey 35 in Greece. In future, his wife, who will also be retired, will also be joining him.
How do you sail with one hand?
Just like with two hands. Seriously, I've never changed anything on my boats to make them more "one-handed". As I was born with only one hand, I'm used to adapting from an early age. I also have sailing guests on board from time to time. It wouldn't be good if I changed things like winches, steering or electronics in such a way that I could cope better with them, but the others would no longer be able to.
How did you get into sailing in the first place?
As children, my best friend and I built model boats in his father's workshop and sailed them on a nearby lake. We dreamed of one day travelling on larger boats. When I was 23, we attended a sailing course together. We are still best friends today and sail together whenever we can.
Did you buy your own boat straight after the course?
Yes, I did indeed. It was a five-metre boat that I wanted to play around with a bit. I met an old friend at the boat dealer who had also got his sailing licence and bought a small boat. Our two boats were moored together in Wales and we went on many trips together. We gradually improved our sailing skills.
When were you drawn to larger cruises?
That was some time later, when someone I knew was looking for crew for an Atlantic crossing on a catamaran. But we didn't get very far because the boat turned out to be so leaky after two days at sea that we were only just able to sail it back to a shipyard.
So the dream of the Caribbean is over?
For the time being, yes. Also because I then had my own workshop that I had to look after. But I built myself a boat that I sailed with my wife and two children as well as my brother-in-law and his family in Wales. This shared ownership lasted for 40 years. But then I also sailed to the Caribbean: My childhood friend had bought an ocean-going yacht and asked if I wanted to cross the Atlantic with him. We had a lot of technical problems, but in the end we arrived in Barbados after 25 days. #
Taking a risk despite a handicap is usually more worthwhile than playing it safe instead.
And now you often sail in Greece without a crew. Isn't that exhausting?
Yes, but not so much because of the missing hand, but because I'm getting older. However, I recently retrofitted an electric winch to make things a little easier for me. The biggest change will be a completely different one anyway: listening more to my wife's instructions in future, when she will soon be with me regularly.
When you look back on your life, how would you summarise it and what advice would you give to others?
With a handicap of any kind, it is not always easy to dare to do something that society does not consider normal. But doing it anyway is usually more worthwhile than playing it safe instead.
Interview: Eric Jehart
