Peter Pye
Encyclopedia
Peter Pye, Dr Edward Arthur (Peter) Pye. MRCS, LRCP, was a British yachtsman, author and doctor.
Peter Pye was educated at Epsom College
, then Trinity College, Cambridge
and St George's Hospital
, London.
After qualifying as a MD
, Pye worked as a G.P. in Ealing
, West London. In the early 1930s, Pye and his wife Anne bought a 30 ft Polperro Gaffer
fishing vessel built by Ferris of Looe
called Lily for £25. They converted the boat, which had been built in 1896, to a sea-going cutter and renamed her Moonraker of Fowey. Together they cruised the boat extensively on annual holidays, sailing out of Fambridge
, Essex.
In 1946, at the age of 44, Pye retired from medicine to concentrate on sailing full time. The decision was the combined result of being unhappy with the prospect of the nationalisation of the British health system and the serendipitous encounter with a book that was to change his life. The book, £200 Millionaire, by British sailor Weston Martyr
, was an account of the low cost life an itinerant yachtsman.
Peter and Anne sailed around the world for the next twenty years, demonstrating that ‘log, line and lookout’ were more important to a life at sea as any number of modern gadgets. He financed his journeys through lecturing and writing books, which were published by Rupert Hart-Davis
. Pye, alongside US photographer, journalist and yachtsman Carleton Mitchell, has been said to symbolise a key change in the history of yachting in the West Indies. Both were amateur sailors who cruised the Caribbean after World War II in small boats, and many followed in the wake of their voyages.
Red Mains’l covers his voyage to Portugal
, Madeira
, the West Indies, Florida, the Azores
and back. While The Sea is for Sailing takes Moonraker from Fowey
to the Caribbean
, through the Panama Canal
and across the Pacific to the Marquesas and Hawaii, to British Columbia
and back home.
He died, aged 64, from the effects of contaminated nitrous oxide
during a hospital operation at Devonport Hospital, Plymouth.
Peter Pye was educated at Epsom College
Epsom College
Epsom College is an independent co-educational public school in Epsom, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 13 to 18. Founded in 1853 to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orphans , Epsom's long-standing association with medicine was estimated in 1980 as...
, then Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital
Founded in 1733, St George’s Hospital is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It shares its main hospital site in Tooting, England with the St George's, University of London which trains NHS staff and carries out advanced medical research....
, London.
After qualifying as a MD
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
, Pye worked as a G.P. in Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, West London. In the early 1930s, Pye and his wife Anne bought a 30 ft Polperro Gaffer
Polperro Gaffer
The Polperro Gaffer is a type of fishing vessel used in Cornwall. The Great Gale of 1891 destroyed the fishing fleets of many of the smaller Cornish villages...
fishing vessel built by Ferris of Looe
Looe
Looe is a small coastal town, fishing port and civil parish in the former Caradon district of south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 . Looe is divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe and West Looe being connected by a bridge...
called Lily for £25. They converted the boat, which had been built in 1896, to a sea-going cutter and renamed her Moonraker of Fowey. Together they cruised the boat extensively on annual holidays, sailing out of Fambridge
North Fambridge
North Fambridge is a village and civil parish on the Dengie peninsula in the English county of Essex.North Fambridge is on the north bank of the River Crouch opposite South Fambridge and is served by North Fambridge railway station on the Crouch Valley Line...
, Essex.
In 1946, at the age of 44, Pye retired from medicine to concentrate on sailing full time. The decision was the combined result of being unhappy with the prospect of the nationalisation of the British health system and the serendipitous encounter with a book that was to change his life. The book, £200 Millionaire, by British sailor Weston Martyr
Weston Martyr
Joseph Weston Martyr,, was a pioneer British ocean yachtsman, writer and broadcaster, who was influential in the creation of the Fastnet race after participating in similar races in Bermuda in 1924...
, was an account of the low cost life an itinerant yachtsman.
Peter and Anne sailed around the world for the next twenty years, demonstrating that ‘log, line and lookout’ were more important to a life at sea as any number of modern gadgets. He financed his journeys through lecturing and writing books, which were published by Rupert Hart-Davis
Rupert Hart-Davis
Sir Rupert Charles Hart-Davis was an English publisher, editor and man of letters. He founded the publishing company Rupert Hart-Davis Ltd...
. Pye, alongside US photographer, journalist and yachtsman Carleton Mitchell, has been said to symbolise a key change in the history of yachting in the West Indies. Both were amateur sailors who cruised the Caribbean after World War II in small boats, and many followed in the wake of their voyages.
Red Mains’l covers his voyage to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, the West Indies, Florida, the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and back. While The Sea is for Sailing takes Moonraker from Fowey
Fowey
Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...
to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, through the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and across the Pacific to the Marquesas and Hawaii, to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and back home.
He died, aged 64, from the effects of contaminated nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
during a hospital operation at Devonport Hospital, Plymouth.
List of works
- Red Mains’l, 1952,
- The Sea is for Sailing, 1957
- A Sail in a Forest, 1961
- The Sea is King
- Backdoor to Brazil