Remembering yachting journalist and author Peter Cumberlidge
Tributes have been paid to Yachting Monthly contributor and author Peter Cumberlidge, who has died from cancer aged 67.
Born in 1951 in Leytonstone, Peter moved with his family to Dartmouth in 1960 where he learnt to sail on the River Dart.
As a teenager he crewed on larger sailing boats and undertook delivery trips. In 1972 he and his father bought Stormalong, a 1936 wooden gaff cutter, and Peter cruised her extensively throughout his life, sailing to north Brittany and the Channel Islands, through the Dutch canals to Denmark and the French canals to the Mediterranean, across to northwest Spain and regularly down the Biscay coast of France.
Peter’s first cruising feature was for Yachting Monthly when Des Sleightholme was editor. In 1983 he started writing full-time, initially for YM and Practical Boat Owner, before contributing to Yachting World and Motor Boat and Yachting.
Stanford Maritime published his first pilot book, Bristol Channel and Severn Pilot in 1988. Peter was also published by Nautical, which is now part of Bloomsbury, and Imray, where he had a very good relationship with Willie Wilson. ‘He had a great insight into places and this came through not just in his writing but also in conversation,’ recalled Willie of their last meeting.
‘At some point we were talking about the Norfolk Broads which he’d recently visited, describing it as being rather a ‘1960s world of pork pies and Double Diamond keg bitter’. Although of course that’s only one perception it seemed to hit exactly the right note which has brought a chuckle ever since. Peter worked closely with all of us at Imray for getting on for 30 years and we’ll miss him,’ he added.
Other books followed including the popular North Brittany and Channel Islands Cruising Companion, which was originally a YM publication in 1991 produced in conjunction with the then editor, Andrew Bray, and Secret Anchorages of Brittany.
Peter was also a member of the Royal Cruising Club (RCC), serving as vice commodore from 2006-2010. Friend and former RCC commodore, Nigel Wollen said Peter served ‘with great distinction and diplomacy’ during his tenure, stepping in to edit the RCC’S annual publication Roving Commissions.
A fund has been set up in Peter’s memory to raise money for the Ellen Macarthur Cancer Trust: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ petercumberlidgecruisingfund