Yachting Matters - 26 - Spring/Summer 2014

Page 46

MAN AT THE TOP – SHANNON FALCONE

RIGHT: ‘WE WON AGAIN’ – SHANNON AND FAMILY CELEBRATE ANOTHER TROPHY

until I was three and obviously both my parents would communicate in Italian when I was young), what I thought was English, what I was speaking here in Antigua at Cobbs Cross School with the other kids, was in fact local Antiguan dialect, which I soon discovered was difficult for others to understand when I arrived in England. They call it Biwi? Yes, I remember listening to tapes that my grandfather had recorded for me that first summer when I arrived in England and he was asking questions like how are you going to enjoy school? The accent I had was heavy; I could hardly understand myself so others must have wondered what I was talking about most of the time. I had to take extra English classes. Initially, I couldn’t understand anyone and no one could understand me and so the first year was difficult and my grades were not so good simply because of the language barrier. Once I had sorted the language problem out I settled into my school life, particularly the given the opportunity to pack my bags and jet off. I had just

sports. I would study in the morning and in the afternoon I would

turned eight and thought of it as a massive adventure!

have sports or hobbies. You could sign up for all these cool things like archery, rugby and of course you could do sailing. I did have a

You mentioned you had a language barrier when you arrived.

short stint at sailing in England before I realised you could literally

Yes, because Italian was my first language (we lived in Florence

sail around a lake on one tack and it was always freezing cold!

BE BOLD

ON THE

WATER

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