School, to me, was something that had to be tolerated, day by day. Commencing High School, having just turned 12, and leaving just three years later, meant that education was seriously lacking when at age 15, I joined the Royal New Zealand Navy as a Boy Seaman. Fortunately I did take subjects that were of assistance in latter years when working my way up to Master Mariner. These subjects were Maths, Physics and Geography. While nowhere near the standard required for various Nautical Certificates, these three subjects gave me a base to work with when commencing the first of six attendances at the Nautical College in New Zealand. Of course, English, a compulsory subject, was to help greatly when time came for Report Writing. In the seafaring industry, while academia is of the essence, it is the year by year first-hand experience which bears the fruit of ones labours
