Invicta 26

A classic long keel yacht for the price of a good dinghy

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The once great British Merchant Navy was in decline. Ships were being mothballed and shipping companies were closing down. London Docks were emptying and my own employer, Canadian Pacific Steamships, was down to only one passenger liner. So, it didn't take much imagination to see that employment and promotion prospects were bleak. Perhaps it was time to go back to school and find another career.

It was December when my little general cargo ship was leaving the St Lawrence before the freeze to head out into the wild winter North Atlantic. Around 1600 it was getting dark and my job was to keep the ship’s log, stand by the telegraph and attempt to interpret the instructions for relaying to various parts of the ship. For the most part I did this phonetically.

As we passed some office blocks on our port side, I could see, through binoculars, people in warm, cosy offices. I asked the captain what they all did, and he said, “They’re not like us, they’re accountants and people like that”.

When we got back to England, I bought books on accountancy instead of celestial navigation and eventually found myself an office role with a tanker company as a sort of nautical accountant. Life was easy and I found time to sail dinghies. I kept a foot in both camps but as the shipping companies closed one by one, I found myself working as an accountant for a manufacturing company in Tonbridge. My office looked out onto the Tyler Boat Company yard. Every few weeks marvellous yacht hulls would pass through their gates and one was the Invicta 26. A perfect view for me since I have always preferred boats to ships and maybe one day I could afford one.

Folkboat inspiration