You could say a thirst for adventure – and even danger runs in the blood of BBC correspondent Wyre Davies.
He’s had several near misses, putting his life on the line in places like Syria and Libya.
But generations before his time spent reporting on the front line from war zones, his grandfather was avoiding being blown up and surviving shipwrecks.
Now in a new documentary in S4C’s Gohebwyr (Correspondents) series on tonight, the reporter heads to the beautiful Chilean fiords in South America to relive a tumultuous episode in the lives of his grandfather and grandmother.
Wyre’s grandfather was nearly killed at sea on three occasions – during the two world wars and also during a dramatic shipwreck in the Chilean fjords when he was accompanied by his wife, Wyre’s grandmother.
Wyre Davies is BBC News South America correspondent and his current home is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He’s there in a period of great change in the country with this year’s World Cup and the Olympics to be held there in 2016.
Wyre has reported from some of the world’s most dangerous countries, including Syria and Libya, as a former BBC Middle East correspondent.
He says that his spirit of adventure comes from his grandfather, who was a crew member of various ships during the two world wars and captain of commercial vessels for decades.
“When I was growing up, I loved to hear stories about my grandfather, Captain Evan Rowlands. They were stories full of peril and adventure,” said Wyre.
“My grandfather gave me my thirst for adventure. The more I travelled the world with my work, the more I wanted to find out about my grandfather’s life and especially the story of the shipwreck off the Chile coast which almost killed my grandfather and grandmother,” says Wyre, who grew up in Manchester, but has roots in Llanon and Llanrhystud, Ceredigion.
In 1938, the ship captain from Llanon skippered the commercial ship Harmanteh which was carrying coal to Brazil. His wife Peg went with him. On the way back, the ship was caught in a perilous storm north off the Magellan Straits, an important trade route off the Chilean coast.
Wyre follows the ship’s journey to find out how the crew survived when the ship hit rocks in stormy weather. The crew, including Wyre’s grandparents, were cast away for days on a small island between remote Puerto Eden on Wellington Island and the Atlantic before they were rescued.
Wyre’s mother, Beti Davies, who is among the contributors to the programme said there is something exciting and romantic about the whole story.
“Especially as my mother came home pregnant expecting me,” she added.
“Something seems to draw Wyre back to South America and he is very similar to my father in his character and his looks.”
Evan was certainly a man who defied fate on more than one occasion. Speaking from his family home in Cardiff Wyre explains how his grandfather escaped perilous attacks by German submarines. Wyre has also been very close to being killed or seriously injured working as a correspondent.
“My grandfather apparently didn’t talk much about his wartime experiences and soldiers very often don’t discuss their experiences. I can understand that,” says Wyre.
“I have been in very dangerous situations where I’ve almost been killed or injured. However, I don’t want Becky and the children to worry about me. It defies reason to see what terrible suffering people are willing to inflict on others – and journalists have the responsibility to highlight these terrible acts.”
Gohebwyr: Wyre Davies will be shown at 8pm tonight on S4C and again on Wednesday, June 25, at 10.30pm, English subtitles