He was there as commander of the small Royal Marines detachment and it was then that he wrote and illustrated his complete yachtsman's pilot to the Islands.  In the campaign of 1982 to repossess the Islands he returned with the British Task Force together with his notes and knowledge.  As a result he played a vital role in the landings, for which he was awarded the OBE.  He was elected Yachtsman of the Year for 1982.

He is a specialist in military landing craft and arctic warfare.  His other interests include watercolour painting and he is a member of the World Ship Trust, the National Maritime Historical Society of America , the Society for Nautical Research and the Royal Institute of Navigation.