Ritchie Diaper, Age 62, Born and living in Edinburgh

Blame it on Rio! No, not the rather dated and morally dubious movie with Michael Caine, but, the far more significant chance encounter between an English merchant seaman and a Scottish nurse working in a hospital in Rio De Janiero that ultimately led to my being. The romance of the first encounter slowly morphed into the reality of my mum caring for four children under the age of six with my dad being away at sea much of the time.

My parents made the decision to move to Kuwait just before my 3rd birthday. My dad was now working as a marine pilot and could spend time with his family. It was here that my love of the water and ocean-related activities started. On my first encounter with an open-air swimming pool, I walked straight in at the deep end. After being fished out, I was soon enrolled in swimming lessons and earning proficiency badges to sew on my trunks.

My dad had a small sailing dinghy when he was a lad growing up on the south coast of England, so it wasn’t long before I was helping him paint and varnish a second hand OK dingy on our front lawn.

The Cumberland Yacht Club on the shores of the Arabian Gulf became our second home. The club had two fleets of boats – Kestrel dinghies and fixed keel X Class wooden boats – that we’d use for both family outings and competing in the club race series.

At university I started windsurfing, a new sport at the time, and it became my water sport of choice for many years. It wasn’t till I turned 40 that I got interested in sea kayaking. To me it’s like backpacking on water – the freedom to roam where you want, on your own or with a few mates, carrying all you need to keep you going for a week or so.