Herbert Hasler

Lt. Col. H.G. "Blondie" Hasler DSO OBE (1914–1987) was a distinguished WWII figure responsible for many of the concepts which led to the foundation of the Special Boat Service SBS, a water-borne unit of the UK special forces.

At the age of 28 in 1942, Major Hasler planned and lead Operation Frankton for which he was subsequently awarded the DSO. The operation was the subject of a feature film titled The Cockleshell Heroes. 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.

'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 holes 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 useable 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 cockpit. 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.