News - 02/05/19

Dan Westwood is our Senior Berthing Master and Patrol Officer on the river and enjoys the varied and all encompassing nature of his job, from towing in broken down vessels to patrolling around the harbour, welcoming and helping visitors to berth both in Shepards Marina and on our many visitors/residential pontoons, plus a wide variety of other tasks as required.

Dan has been messing around on boats since he was a youngster and even lived aboard for a time as a child. He is also a qualified boat builder and mechanic and before joining Shepards over 18 years ago, he worked for Corby Yachts building a 48ft carbon fibre yacht called Flirt! He now owns a junk-rigged yacht and enjoys cruising the Solent when we let him have a day off!

Top photo: Dan Westwood

Commercial Marine Services Team Leader Darren Gough joined CHC in April 2000, working in the maintenance and mooring department at Kingston Wharf, where he hoped his experience gained in the British Army and at Souter Shipyard would be useful. The Kingston site developed into a busy Boatyard and grew from a harbour maintenance team into the Commercial Marine Services division that exists today. Darren said: “The people are the main priority; getting projects completed and having a satisfied customer at the end of it gives a real sense of achievement.”

Darren Gough

In his life outside of work Darren is a commercial diver, and Community First Responder for the IW Ambulance Service. The social aspect of working at CHC is something he likes to embrace, often taking part in events like the IW Randonnee and Wight Challenge, where it’s not just staff that participate, but former employees and local contractors too. He said: “Having people around me who aren’t just good at what they do, but are knowledgeable and good friends means it doesn’t feel like work.”