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The University of Southampton
HistoryPart of Humanities

Studying and sailing are another good combination for one Southampton historian and philosopher

Published: 20 August 2015

History and Philosophy student John Brooker combines his studies with world-class sailing. A paralympic sportsman, he sails a 2.4mR boat against world class competition at regattas and enjoys the challenge of open waters.

The second year undergraduate took the bronze medal in the Sailing World Cup at Weymouth and Portland in June 2015 and hopes to be in contention for future Paralympic games, although he has lost out on a place for Rio 2016 to his close rival Helena Lewis.

John got into sailing when he was seven and loves the sport. He says the disability-friendly boat is easy to sail with one hand wiothout any adaptations. “Sailing is more than just a physical activity, there are many skills to master as you need to read the winds and waves and plot strategy, there’s more than a little psychology as well as you try to outwit your fellow competitors,” he says.

The highlight of his sailing career so far has been taking part in world cup sailing last July in Canada against a large field of fellow 2.4mR sailors and coming fourth in one of the races. “As sailing events are mainly in the summer it’s easy to study and sail at the same time. I might even link the two, by choosing a dissertation subject on the history or philosophy of sailing and competition.”

 

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