A Falmouth man has finally realised a childhood dream which set him on his career path when he was just seven years old.

Captain Nicholas Martin was only a boy when he watched the tall ship Dar Mlodziezy sail out of port as part of the 1982 Tall Ships Regatta, but he decided on that day that he wanted to be a pilot.

His mother, Sue Martin, said: “He looked at me and said one day he wanted to steer a boat like her out of the harbour, he was seven years old.

“I helped him write a letter to the then-captain and within a few weeks received a reply inviting him on board the vessel in Southampton, where he was given a VIP tour of the ship which sealed his future career.”

On Sunday Nicholas’s dream came true as he piloted the Dar Mlodziezy out of Falmouth. 

The ship was on her maiden voyage in 1982 when she visited the port, and 2014 was the first time she has returned since then, and the skipper told Nicholas that there is no other place they have visited which gives them such a send off.