3 sources · updated 21 Oct 2026
Herbert George 'Blondie' Hasler was born in Dublin on 27 February 1914. He was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1932 and served in the Second World War, including Norway (Narvik) in 1940. In December 1942 he planned and led Operation Frankton, a canoe raid on German shipping around Bordeaux, for which he received the Distinguished Service Order.
After the war he became a respected yachtsman. He developed the first practical self-steering gear for yachts and tested it on Jester, a modified Folkboat with a junk rig. He originated the first single-handed transatlantic race, the OSTAR, held in 1960 from Plymouth to New York.
He finished second on Jester behind Francis Chichester, and returned in 1964 to finish fifth. Disenchanted with the race's growing commercialisation, he then sold Jester to Michael Richey. He died in Glasgow on 5 May 1987.