Tony Preedy learned to sail as a youth in a lugsail-rigged 5.5m open ship’s lifeboat. His first big sailing adventure was to circumnavigate Wales over weekends and holidays during 1961/62 in company with his younger brother and a friend.

He later owned a Drascombe longboat and restored a Maurice Griffiths Waterwitch ketch. He bought Wild Bird, a Vancouver 38P, after retirement to cruise transatlantic and in the Mediterranean.

​​Tony Preedy’s autism shaped his young life, leading him to enter Technical College. He studied to be a Chartered Engineer while a REME apprentice, at Bristol Polytechnic, then the BBC. He was elected a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

He has worked as an engineer in broadcasting, spending time in Arabia– inspiration for his book Mustafa’s Last Well – and in law in the USA.

Widower Tony married Jean while living on Ascension Island and had two daughters. They moved to Shropshire after retirement. He enjoys sailing, restoring classic boats and vehicles, walking, and amateur radio.