Umdloti sailor, “just a normal dude”

Paul Changuion’s sailing passion started on a pool in Pinetown, when his father wanted to sell an old boat that was lying in their garden.

“I was about eleven, when my dad asked me to clean his old Optimist (a beginner’s sailing boat),” he said.

He cleaned it, put it in the pool and an hour later, he was hooked.

The now Umdloti resident phoned the nearest yacht club and immediately signed up.

“I always loved dingies, be it Oppies, Dabchicks, Lasers or 49ers.”

He had sailed competitively from the start and then he joined the navy.

“I was on the submarines for a year, but I was made a potato peeler, because I was always on sports leave for sailing events.”

When the time came to study, he tried electrical engineering, but after three years, he knew it was not for him and in desperation, his parents sent him to a clinical psychiatrist for an evaluation test.

“He told me to just go sailing,” he said laughing.

With this liberating advice, he packed his bags and worked as a skipper on yachts in Greece for a year.

Changuion has participated in many regattas across the world.

One of the strangest ones was probably a J22 world champs in Texas in 1996.

“We had to drive from Charleston to Fort Worth in Texas, roughly a 17 hour drive, to spend a week in Texas and we had no wind.”

He also participated in the 2012 UK Squib Nationals, which were quite interesting, seeing that he and his team mate, Tim Duguid, had never sailed a Squib before.

Although he had lots of fun with the international regattas, he loves sailing in South Africa.

“One of my best regattas was sailing Lipton Cup (the most prestigious and competitive regatta in SA) on a L26 in Mossel Bay in 2011. We won the first and last race, which was really great.”

The humble sailor won the 49er nationals with Alec Lanham-Love at the Vaal Dam, during his Olympics campaign.

He has also won the Flying Fifteen Nationals with Tim Duguid in December last year.

“I usually come second, it is pathetic really,” he said, shaking his head.

His oldest daughter, Amelia (9), recently started sailing and took part in the Mirror Nationals in the Western Cape where they made the top ten.

“It was really fantastic to sail with my daughter, as it is such a great father-daughter bonding time.”

Amelia won a trophy for being the youngest sailor in the regatta.

Coming up this year for Changuion will be the Inhaca race (race from Inhaca island in Mozambique to Richards Bay Yacht Club) and the Hunter Nationals.

“The Fastnet and Sydney to Hobart races are both on my bucket list.”

When he is not working or sailing, the successful entrepreneur, loves to catch a wave on his surf board.

“I’m just a normal dude, doing what I need to do.”