Alexander Edward Buckingham (Al, Big Al, Alex)
 
Alex, who was he and what and where he had been in his full but sadly shortened life.
 
Those of us who knew him saw something very different from others trying to break in. He was really just a small boy in a very big man’s body. He lived life like most could only dream about. He was a doer not a talker.
 
He left school really not knowing where or what he wanted other than a clear direction of no further education but wanting to go through the school of life to see what was out there for him, and this he did with fervour and action.
 
6 months in France working as a service document translator to perfect his French learned from 4 years schooling in Belgium.
 
15 months as a trainee Golf Course architect in South Africa following a family trip and safari, he just wanted to stay.
 
Started his love affair with the boating industry and began to work on his first qualifications. Having qualified to the first levels, off he went to Turkey with Mark Warner hols as a water ski and sailing instructor. Kicked out of Turkey after being fired for sleeping with a few of the female guests, a ferry ride found him in Greece. He loved it and stayed a season again skiing and sailing and added kiting, diving and other skills to his growing portfolio.
 
A year in London wearing a suit reinforced his love for the outside life style, so he invested in further qualifications leading to a season in the Med out of Nice working his first luxury yacht as a deck hand
 
Next off to the mecca of boating. Florida. 2 years there which included sailing a 100ft ketch across the south Pacific to the Galapagos Islands and then on to Tahiti and back to Chile over 10 months.
 
Having enjoyed the sailing then followed two seasons in the Ionian as a flotilla skipper leading 12 to 15 yachts.
 
Further qualifications saw him return to Florida as a Deck hand on a 120ft private yacht, two season later with his Officer of the Watch 300, he gained his first Captains position and held this position until he was so tragically taken from the world he so loved and lived..
 
He lived a life that was encompassed my the motto “work hard and play hard”, everything was at 100%. His work ethic and dedication to his vessel was unwavering. He was loyal and generous to a fault. He would be first to the bar and would give you his last dollar if you needed help.
 
He was a son to love and be proud of, he was a brother to look up to and be defended by, he was a boyfriend who when loved returned it unwaveringly and he was a friend unlike any other.
 
He will be remembered with love and affection by all who were touched in his very exciting and well travelled life.