Helen Vercoe
Captain Stephen Coad
Visiting Mannum for the day provided us with the unexpected opportunity to meet and talk to many of the crew on P.S. Marion, of which Captain Stephen Coad was one. On explaining what we were doing with the Portrait of a Stranger project he, to our delight, invited us onto the bridge to take his photo and have a chat.
It was clear from the onset his passion for the old steamer and the life on the river, despite being a city boy, after watching him talk to the many tourists walking past and stopping for a chat. Now in semi-retirement after a career in the finance sector and as a Procurement Manager (where he worked in Europe) he enjoys giving back to the community through his volunteer work.
Starting out "life" on the P.S. Marion as a deckhand, Stephen attributes his rise to captaincy to his previous captains, who took the time to share their knowledge and passion with him, and he considers himself 'living proof you can work your way up from the bottom to the top!'.
Today his "love affair" with P.S. Marion is shared with his wife, who happens to be the First Mate on board, an irony not lost on Stephen....at least he is the "boss" when paddling on the river!
Captain Stephen Coad
Visiting Mannum for the day provided us with the unexpected opportunity to meet and talk to many of the crew on P.S. Marion, of which Captain Stephen Coad was one. On explaining what we were doing with the Portrait of a Stranger project he, to our delight, invited us onto the bridge to take his photo and have a chat.
It was clear from the onset his passion for the old steamer and the life on the river, despite being a city boy, after watching him talk to the many tourists walking past and stopping for a chat. Now in semi-retirement after a career in the finance sector and as a Procurement Manager (where he worked in Europe) he enjoys giving back to the community through his volunteer work.
Starting out "life" on the P.S. Marion as a deckhand, Stephen attributes his rise to captaincy to his previous captains, who took the time to share their knowledge and passion with him, and he considers himself 'living proof you can work your way up from the bottom to the top!'.
Today his "love affair" with P.S. Marion is shared with his wife, who happens to be the First Mate on board, an irony not lost on Stephen....at least he is the "boss" when paddling on the river!