Through life with a big smile: Mike Peyton - Picasso in sailing

A mischievous, cheerful 96-year-old boy. This is how Mike Peyton will forever be remembered by those who knew him.

Mike Peyton

Best Yacht Cartoonist, he could always find the right words at the right moment. The irony with which he poked fun at situations in which many are lost, and which are afraid, is a talent.

His work has been published in magazines such as Yachting Monthly and Practical Boat Owner... And, as one of the editor-in-chief admits, it was a holiday for them, when an envelope with the artist's next masterpieces was brought to the editorial office.

Mike had a good sense of humor, too. In his pictures, he often described the moments that he himself experienced.

After graduation Manchester School of Art he bought himself a 12-foot sailing canoe from a man he had met in a pub and set off to cruise the Thames. Slept on moored barges. Fried his breakfast on a primus stove in the shade of Big Ben. The smell of fried bacon never left his boat.

Few people know that Mike Peyton, the son of a World War I invalid, lied about his age to join the army. Subsequently, he was sent by a reconnaissance corps to draw up maps of the North African desert during World War II. He spent most of the war in a POW camp. Escaped twice. And in the end he was liberated by the Soviet army. Later he fought with them against the Nazis.

After the war, Peyton worked as a freelance cartoonist for New scientist for 35 years, and also took part in the creation of cartoons for Church of England Times, Corsetry & Underwear, Practical Boat Owner and Yachting Monthly.

Peyton's first "real" boat was a 24-foot gaff schooner Vagrant... Later he had several of them.

Until the end of his days, he somehow managed to maintain good spirits and optimism, despite the fact that he had seen almost nothing for the past few years and had to sell his favorite cement yacht. Touchstone.

Mike Peyton died on January 25, 2017 in the hospital.