Falmouth's retired harbour master has been presented with a glass plaque to recognise the  body's close relationship with Port of Falmouth Sailing Association.

Nigel Sharp, chairman of the Port of Falmouth Sailing Association presented retired Falmouth Harbour Master, Duncan Paul with the glass plaque to acknowledge the close relationship between the two organisations.

Captain Duncan Paul was appointed Harbour Master in June 2020 having previously served in assistant and deputy harbour master roles and taking over the helm of the Harbour from Mark Sansom.

Captain Paul joined Falmouth Harbour in 2010 as Assistant Harbour Master and has performed several marine safety roles for the organisation, including Pilot Services General Manager and Deputy Harbour Master.

Born in Paisley, Glasgow, his family moved to St Ives when he was a teenager. Duncan went on to serve as a Master with Maersk, on a variety of vessels trading worldwide, spent periods as operations manager for the Ministry of Defence Salvage and Moorings Organisation and was security manager for an international shipping company.

Nigel noted that during Captain Paul’s time in Falmouth, he was supportive of many sailing events, most notably the 2012 World Championships of the Finn dinghy class prior to the Olympics (both won by Falmouth’s Sir Ben Ainslie).

Other major events included three Pendennis Cups for superyachts, the return of the J-class in 2012 and 2015; three editions of the quadrennial AZAB (Azores and Back) Race, the International Six Metre European Championships, and the inaugural Richard Mille Cup for classic superyachts earlier this year, not to mention 14 Falmouth Sailing Weeks and numerous local annual championships, especially the Working Boats, Sunbeams and Ajax classes.