Southby-Tailyour, Ewen A Life under Sai

The Aquatic Adventures of a Royal Marine

Ewen Southby-Tailyours lifelong connection to small boatswhether civilian or militarybegan with an unusual christening and ended only when he sold his final vessel on his 80th birthday. In the intervening years, he undertook extensive voyages, not in "warm waters," but in colder, rarely visited regions; notable among these were the Falkland Islands, as well as the uncharted fjords of northwest Iceland and northern Norway during winter. His love for the sea was ignited at the age of just four when he accompanied a sailing trip on a trawler. Soon after, he joined the crew of the classic pilot cutter *Olga*; he sailed this vesselwhich remained in the family for over thirty yearsduring every Easter and summer holiday, mastering navigation, seamanship, and vessel handling in the process. At the Nautical College Pangbourne, he passed examinations in celestial navigation, seamanship, and signaling; although he was captain of the sailing team, he opted out of Olympic qualifying trials in favor of offshore voyages and expeditions. He served as navigator in six Fastnet Races, among other events, and acted as skipper in six "Round Britain" races for two-person crews, as well as in a solo circumnavigation of Mallorca and a two-person race around Iceland. During his overseas postings, he seized every opportunity to sail and study local vessel types, such as Arab dhows, Chinese junks, Kenyan outrigger canoes, and square-rigged ships. In the Falkland Islands, he discovered that nautical charts had not been updated since the 19th century; consequently, he spent his spare time surveying coastlines and beacheswork that later served as the basis for planning amphibious operations in 1982. His life as a sailor was, of course, not without dramatic moments: he went overboard twiceonce while sailing solo. Rough weather is part of life at sea; in his case, he found himself in a perilous situation off the coast of Iceland in Force 11 windsa fight for survival to which an entire chapter is dedicated in the seminal work *Heavy Weather Sailing*.