In 1973 I was 26. 1973 became one hell of a year. • I got a new job • I moved from the far north of England to the deep south; from a shipyard employing 13,000 people to a small design office employing only 6 • I first met my good friend Peter Whitlock there, himself also a new arrival • And to crown it all, 1973 was the year that I first met John Keelty, Naval Architect and founder of Keel Marine It was at that point that I realised, after 3 years at university doing Naval Architecture (not particularly well), after 5 years of shipyard apprenticeship, that I actually knew very little. John Keelty was going to change all that. John, and his Marine Engineer partner John Weston, started Keel Marine in 1962 and by 1973 had a client list that spread across the world. We ‘young boys’ began to travel. We began to take responsibility. We began to learn. And the more we learned, the more we knew that there was so much more to learn. Yes, occasionally we made mistakes, but John was always there in support, our mentor and teacher. John’s great maxim, in fact his philosophy, was that it is perfectly possible to do business as both a professional and a gentleman – and to have fun doing it. And we ‘young boys’, though not so young any more, have carried on doing just that ever since. Even though John was only the second employer that I ever had, something must have been right about the job because I stayed for 37 years. Indeed, Peter Whitlock, himself now at the helm of Keel Marine, has been there for over 42 years. I think that says it all – the Keelty factor Today, I am just grateful for this opportunity to pay tribute to John. He was a real professional, a teacher, a true gentleman and a good friend. And I can confirm that his philosophy lives on. Colin Crimp 27/01/2015