Tributes flood in for 'Captain Jack'

Tributes have been flooding in to a sailor who hit the headlines when he defied the authorities to sail a party of pensioners to the Arctic and then had his exploits turned into a big screen movie.

Jack Lammiman from Whitby died at home aged 75. He found fame in the early 1990s when he sailed his old Danish fishing boat the Helga Maria to the Norwegian Arctic island of Jan Mayen despite British officials banning him from leaving his home port because they said the vessel was not seaworthy.

The one-time postman said he was determined to press ahead with the voyage in homage to Whitby's great 18th century whaling skipper William Scoresby, the inventor of the crow's nest.

His crew of pensioners and a vicar braved stormy seas, repainted the vessel to disguise it from pursuing Royal Navy spotter planes - and they even braved an encounter with a polar bear . The motley crew returned to Whitby in triumph to be greeted by thousands of August Bank Holiday visitors.

But officialdom prevailed and Captain Jack was subsequently prosecuted by the Department of Transport and convicted of breaching maritime safety regulations. Here's Andy Kluz's report from 1993.

He said at the time: "They tried to stop me from going to sea because I didn't have the right sized fire bucket...No vessel is a democracy and I am the skipper of this boat."

The adventure was subsequently made into a film called Captain Jack - starring Maureen Lipman and Bob Hoskins - but the real Captain Jack Lammiman shunned the limelight and slipped back into relative obscurity in Whitby.

The Helga Maria was sold and Captain Jack, a charismatic figure, with a twinkle in his eye and many a tall tale to tell, would often be seen by the harbourside walking his dogs and smoking his pipe.

He died at home on Wednesday night with his family and two dogs by his side.A Memorial Service will be held at St. Ninian's Church, Baxtergate, Whitby, at noon on Sunday, April 19.