Swinging the lead

Between the two world wars many intrepid sailors, here in the UK, USA, France, Australia, Argentina, and many other places worldwide, began to venture further in small yachts. The first person to sail single-handed around the world in the Southern Ocean was Argentinian Vito Dumas in 1942. He and others of his ilk produced a body of literature that shows how very different sailing was in those days without reliable engines and modern electronics.

Having been brought up family cruising during the 1950s, I can relate to most of this. Already, changes were taking place, with more reliable engines and the beginnings of useful electronic