Challenges by Dag Pyke (Bosun Publications, £19.95).
Dag Pyke is one of the best known names in boating, and he has a wonderful story to tell. Challenges is an entirely appropriate title for the life story of someone who has been challenging himself and the elements in equal measure, every since falling in love with the sea as an eight year old wartime evacuee to Cornwall.
As soon as peace came, Dag, now in his 70s, joined the Sea Scouts, which led to him being a volunteer for the sailing regatta of the 1948 Olympics, which in turn led to him being invited to crew on ocean racing yachts. His passion for the sea then took him into the Merchant Navy. His master's ticket is proudly reproduced on the end papers of this absorbing and wonderfully illustrated book.
Already ship-wrecked before he was 21, he went on to become the youngest sea captain of Trinity House, before taking his expertise in handling fast boats in rough weather to the RNLI, where he triggered the development of the now ubiquitous Rigid Inflatable Boat.
His skills as a navigator also took him into the world of offshore powerboat racing, where he sailed with some of the biggest names - Fabio Buzzi has written the foreword for his book.
Dag was also navigator on Richard Branson's two Virgin Atlantic Challengers, the one that sank just short of the finish, and the one that smashed the TransAtlantic Blue Riband record.
Dag has also written some 30 books about seamanship, navigation and electronics on board, including the definitive US Coast Guard Fast Boat Seamanship Manual.
But despite all this association with powerful engines, Dag remains a sailorman at heart. His latest passion is racing Falmouth working boats.
“They are the real thing. Originally designed for oyster dredging, they are heavy gaff-rigged craft around 30 feet long with no modern equipment at all,” he writes.
“Winnie, the one I sail, is 107 years old. She brings me closer to the sea, which I have loved all my life. It's just man and the elements, reading the wind, feeling it on your face and watching how it fills the sails. It's sensing the ocean, knowing what it will do and how to use the best of it - feeling more alive than any other activity on the planet.”
This is a book, as the author says, of calm and storm, recording the worst and the best offered by the sea “this wonderful mistress who completely rules my life.” It is full of action and adventure - Dag has been rescued nine times himself, and been a rescuer many times more.
Even now Dag continues to face new challenges, as an expert witness on maritime subjects in courts of law. And he still hankers to be involved in the ultimate challenge: navigating the fastest boat around the world.
This is the ideal book for those long winter evenings away from the boat!
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