The personal memoirs of Tom Diaper, one of the great yacht skippers who raced for many famous yacht owners in the late 19th and early 20th century; with an introduction by Sir Sidney Wadsworth who describes "being completely carried away reading this unsophisticated but vivid and convincing narrative" of Diaper who spent his whole life at sea, his first job as a pantry boy aboard a team yacht, the 'Queen of Palmyra' in 1879 aged just 13. He retired in 1936 when he had become one of the most famous and successful of professional yacht skippers. He worked for the Earl of Dunraven, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Sir Thomas Lipton and many other famous yachtsmen. At the height of his success it was difficult to get other skippers to race against him. His account of his varied career is fascinating and depressing. It clearly shows how precarious was the livelihood gained even by the most gifted of professional yachting seamen. Unfortunately the author did not live to see the publication of his book, dying on the 12th December 1949 at the age of 82.