Herbert Hasler

Lt. Col. Herbert George "Blondie" Hasler DSO OBE (27 February 1914 – 5 May 1987) was a distinguished Royal Marines officer in World War II, responsible for many of the concepts which led to the post war incarnation of the Special Boat Service, a water-borne unit of the UK special forces.

He served as fleet landing officer in Scapa Flow in 1940, and was then sent to Narvik in support of the French Foreign Legion in the Norwegian campaign, for which duties he was appointed OBE, Mentioned in Despatches, and awarded the Croix de Guerre.

At the age of 28 in 1942, Major Hasler planned and led Operation Frankton for which he was subsequently awarded the DSO. (He was recommended for the VC, but was technically ineligible, having not been under fire.) There are conflicting opinions about the impact Operation Frankton had on the war effort, but it was a significant morale booster, and there is absolutely no doubting the bravery, courage and endeavour of all the participants.

The operation was the subject of a 1955 feature film titled "The Cockleshell Heroes". A non-fiction account of Operation Frankton titled "Cockleshell Heroes" was published in 1956, written by C. E. Lucas-Phillips "with the co-operation of Lieut-Col H. G. Hasler, DSO OBE".

"Blondie" Hasler is also well known in sailing circles as one of the father figures of single-handed sailing, due to his invention of the first self-steering gear for yachts. The device enabled the skipper to set a course fixed as an angle to the prevailing wind enabling the single-handed sailor to rest and complete other activities such as navigation, cooking, repairs and sail handling. The device consists of a wind vane secured at the stern of the yacht and connected to the tiller via a system of ropes, pulleys and servos. As the wind changes direction the settings have to be adjusted in order to keep a constant compass course. The invention revolutionised the popularity of single-handed sailing by freeing the skipper from constant steering and giving time for other essential activities particularly sleep. In recent decades electronically-controlled and electrically-powered self-steering gear has grown in popularity, but its power demands mean that all but the most sophisticated sailing vessels still use mechanical self-steering for long-distance sailing.

Blondie was also a participant in the "OSTAR", the first single-handed ocean yacht race, which was run from Plymouth to New York. The first race was triggered by the famous "half a crown" bet between Sir Francis Chichester and Blondie as to who would be first in a single handed race across the Atlantic. Eventually the race took place in 1960, was sponsored by "The Observer" newspaper and named the "Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race". From the fifty participants who sent letters of intent there were eventually five participants, all of whom used Hasler self-steering equipment.

Blondie sailed in a modified Nordic Folkboat called "Jester", one of the smallest boats in the race, and finished second, taking 48 days to cross the Atlantic. The Nordic Folkboat class was designed in Scandinavia and is an extremely seaworthy long keeled 25 ft (7.68 m) long yacht. Blondie bought "Jester" some years prior to the first "OSTAR" and specified modifications such as a fully decked top with two circular hatches in the cabin top set on a standard Folkboat hull. Blondie used the boat as a floating laboratory to test and modify his ideas into usable components. The name "Jester" came about because Blondie thought at the time that "it was such a bloody joke".

In addition to self steering, "Blondie" Hasler also pioneered the use of a Chinese junk rig on "Jester" in order to reduce the physical effort of handling a conventional rig single-handed. Safety was also increased as the junk rig was the first rig to be used on a yacht which enabled all sail handling to be completed from the safety of the central control hatch. Blondie quickly realised that he could sail "Jester" across the Atlantic without ever leaving the cabin.

The "OSTAR" became established as a regular event held every four years. For the second and subsequent races "Jester" was sailed by Michael Ritchie.

ources

*Ewen Southby-Tailyour, ‘Hasler, Herbert George (1914–1987)’, rev., "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/40686, accessed 9 March 2008]