Jack Gaston, a personal reflection

I first met Jack some 25 years ago on the East Pier at Ramsgate witnessing the arrival of a Canadian tug/icebreaker. Being a cold and gloomy Sunday winter afternoon we were unsurprisingly the only two there so while I hadn’t seen a picture of him before I somehow knew it had to be Jack Gaston.

We kept in touch thereafter and as a tug enthusiast would listen with interest to him sharing his knowledge of the industry, I thought I knew just a little about tugs and towing until I met Jack; his knowledge was formidable.

In those days email and the internet were still to bring the changes with news reporting that today sees journalists working mostly from a computer screen. Jack worked in the era of picking up the phone or better still getting in the car or jumping on a plane and talking to people in person, meaning everyone from the engine room to the board room. His contacts book must have been a Who’s Who of the global towage and salvage industry.

In 1999 I was coxswain/mechanic of the RNLI lifeboat in Margate and we attended the container ship Ever Decent, which suffered a fire following a collision with a cruise ship. Jack was soon on the phone and I was able to pass regular updates from the front line. Similarly, in 2007 he reported extensively on the salvage of the container ship MSC Napoli on the UK south coast, an indication of the regard in which he was held was the fact that he secured a seat in an official helicopter to overfly and record the scene.

I had meanwhile started to contribute to MJ, but it was a daunting prospect when five years ago, after deciding to reduce his workload Jack suggested mentioning that I could perhaps take over his Tugs & Towing column. It was indeed an honour to have the opportunity to maintain what was and still is in many respects Jack’s column.