Blondie : a biography of Lieutenant-Colonel H G Hasler ; DSO, OBE, Croix de Guerre, Royal Marines

'Blondie' Herbert George Hasler was born in 1913. He was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1932, the year in which he sailed a fouteen foot dinghy single-handed from Plymouth to Portsmouth and back. In 1941 he wrote a paper suggesting the use of canoes and underwater swimmers to take the enemy by stealth. His ideas were used at Bordeaux in 1942, after which he became known as 'the Cockleshell Hero'. After he returned from Ceylon in 1944 he was responsible for establishing the Royal Marines' Special Boat Service. Once retired he became involved in ocean racing yachts. Hasler was determined to design and build the smallest yacht that could be sailed safely and with the minimum of effort. To this end he produced the junk-rigged Jester and the servo pendulum self-steering gear. To publicise his invention he suggested a single-handed trans-Atlantic race, the first of which was held in 1961. This biography gives details of his life and career, and is illustrated with black and white photographs. There are appendices containing technical information and a bibliography.