TRIBUTES have poured in following the death of legendary Whitby sailor Jack Lammiman whose adventures on the high seas sparked an international search involving 14 countries and was the inspiration for a British comedy starring the late Bob Hoskins.

Captain Jack waved goodbye to Whitby and maritime bureaucracy in 1991 setting sail on the trip of a lifetime despite orders he be detained in port after his 69-year-old ship Helga Maria was declared unseaworthy.

Dodging search and rescue boats and an international alert he sailed 3,000 miles to the Arctic Circle in the footsteps of his hero William Scoresby, Whitby’s famous 18th century whaling skipper who invented the Crows nest.

Travelling with a crew of three pensioners and a vicar Mr Lammiman, reached his destination putting a plaque on Jan Meyen Island, 370 miles North East of Iceland in tribute to Scoresby.

During the trip they braved severe gales and enormous seas, repainting the boat to dodge the RAF, navy and coastal patrols and according to Mr Lammiman even a close encounter with a polar bear.

They came back after a month to a hero’s welcome but the escapade landed Captain Jack in court where maritime inspectors said the Helga Maria did not come up to scratch because she had no whistle or bell on board, several essential nautical publications were missing and there were no clear instructions for the lifejackets or liferaft.

He was fined £400 and went down in history after actor Bob Hoskins starred in 'Captain Jack', the film inspired by his life, also featuring Sadie Frost and Maureen Lipman whose husband Jack Rosenthal wrote the script. Mr Hoskins said at the time: "It’s a bloody marvellous story.”

Mr Lammiman claimed efforts to stop him were just bureaucratic technicalities.

"It's not as if I would take a leaking, sinking ship out on a voyage like that,” he told The Northern Echo.

Within a year he set sail again for more adventures on the Helga Maria - an 8,000 mile trip round America when he was set adrift for nearly a month with engine trouble and had to be towed to land.

Despite his many daring adventures he was known in Whitby as an “unassuming gentleman”.

Aged 75, he died peacefully at home. Jon Stokoe, the former Editor of the Whitby Gazette said:” He was a really eloquent man and a lovely chap. The word legend is very often overused but in Jack’s case, that was exactly what he was.

“And while he would happily talk about his trips and adventures, he didn’t blow his own trumpet at all. He was a genuine character and will be sorely missed in Whitby.”

A private family funeral is being held in the town on Saturday, April 18, with a memorial service at midday on Sunday at St Ninian’s Church, Baxtergate, in Whitby.