Sir, – Oh dear, how things have changed [114/1, p. 32]. When my great grandfather, Captain Edward Sycamore, appeared before the board in 1917 he was asked what he knew about navigation: “I guarantee to take any vessel you like to give me from Dover to Rosyth in thick weather quicker than any of you gentleman sitting round the table,” was his reply. Syc, as he was known, was the country’s leading professional yacht skipper from 1890 until his death in 1930. Amongst his commands were three 40 Raters for RA the Hon Victor Montagu (of the eponymous whaler) and Shamrock II and later Shamrock 23 met…
