The call to boats was in the stars. Dudley's parents met while both were serving the effort in WWII aboard ships. John Gaman was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy serving on the HMS Cardiff. Elizabeth Porter was an Officer in the British Red Cross serving on the HMS Formidable. John was just winding down from many years of war in the North Atlantic, and Elizabeth was working to repatriate POWs. They met while on shore leave in Sydney, Australia. They kept in touch, and on December 7, 1946, they were married.
	John, while on patrol in the North Atlantic, must have enjoyed the heavy weather as his photo album is filled with pictures of big waves.
	Demonstrating a sense of adventure not evident in later years, John accepted a new position in the marine insurance business in New York. With his new bride, he booked passage on the RMS Mauretania, arriving in New York on May 25, 1947.
	Anyone can do the math... It didn't take long after arrival that Elizabeth was pregnant. No one knows what happened in the interim, but by the time he was two years old, his father was giving Dudley his first lesson in boat admiration. It wasn't long before he was taking his first step aboard.
	And when it came time to visit the relatives in England in August 1952, John and Elizabeth took the kids, by the Cunard liner M.V. Britannic, from New York to Liverpool and back.
	The weather was great for the August crossing, but by their return in late October, the weather had worsened so that we had very heavy seas and gale force winds for several days. Heavy weather didn't appear to bother Dudley in the slightest.
	By the time he was 4, Dudley was learning to paddle a canoe in England. John, determined to maintain his sea legs, pushed onward through the birth of their third child.
	As a child, Dudley's relatives and friends came and went by ship. It was a special occasion to drive to the port in New York to meet them on arrival, or to see them depart for some foreign location. If they were lucky, they'd get invited aboard. Sometimes his parent's friends got him tours of the ships.
	It didn't take long before Dudley envisioned himself as The Commodore. All his dreams revolved around boats. If Dudley found himself in a place without a boat, he would improvise.
	Even on a cross-country trip, they found time to satisfy their lust for the sea by taking a 12-hour trip across Lake Michigan. Not without a sense of wonder at the history of our seafaring forefathers, Dudley visited historic ships at various Eastern seaports.
	By the time he was 12, Dudley was taking his brother and sister out into Casco Bay to visit the offshore islands. Suffering under his father's lack of support for motor-powered boats, Dudley developed the skills of a long-distance rower as he ventured miles out to the most remote islands.
	Dudley would soon start his sailing career, but the boating background and ability to row would serve him well in later life.

Get Back Aboard Kia Orana.