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Greg Castle is our deep-sea coordinator with a team responsible for sea and air freight beyond Europe. We ask him about his star likes and what he likes to do in his spare time.
Name: Greg Castle
Job title: Deep-sea coordinator
In his leisure time, he is also a specialist on opening the doors to the underwater world. As a scuba diving instructor, with his wife Charlotte, Greg takes pupils through the basics in a swimming pool before moving on to water-filled quarries, leading to diving in the sea.
UK waters are thriving with life, but highlights for Greg and Charlotte have included swimming with some of the big predators in warmer waters.
On coming face to face with hammerhead sharks in the Red Sea and tiger sharks off Cape Verde in the Atlantic, Greg says: “It’s amazing, there’s no other feeling like it. They’re big boys, and although humans are not their food they’re still curious about us, which might lead to trouble. You’re bound to be nervous. It’s what keeps you alive.”
While 12m depth is the limit for novices, Greg is keen on going below 40m, which is known as technical diving requiring extra equipment and decompression precautions.
The couple teach for York business Overland Underwater and the nearest quarry they use for lessons is at Eight Acre Lake, North Cave, where there are various underwater objects to explore and thousands of fish.
More about Greg: I was born in Howden and moved around a lot before finding my way back to the town, moving in with my then girlfriend, now wife, 12 years ago. We have a five-month-old daughter. I managed to find my way into freight forwarding after spending time working in pubs and deciding I needed to do something with my life.
I previously worked an N&B competitor in the region and one of the first things I had to do when joining the team here was to apologise for stealing customers. All’s fair in forwarding, though.
Star likes
Music: I was brought up listening to soul, but I’m a big fan of the blues and heavy rock. I like getting my guitars out to play
Food: I’m a steak and burgers man
Hobby: I enjoy jumping in warm and cold water to see seals, fish and when possible sharks, rays and turtles
Film: I’m a sci-fi geek
If your wishes could be granted, what would you ask for?
I’d like my family and friends to have no worries in the world.
Which celebrity would you like to meet?
I’d love to meet Keith Richards and get a few guitar lessons, plus I’m sure he’s got a few stories of being on the road he could share with me.
