Mike Rowley left school and went to sea in 1967. Flying in and out of London City Airport these days, he often looks down on the now-redeveloped Royal Docks where as a youngster he used to join ships.
“Those days are long gone,” he mused. “All the ships I sailed on are long since razor blades.”
Rowley came ashore and studied law with the intention of becoming a barrister but flirting with a life at sea on his holidays.