Aged Just 23, and alreadyset on a life of adventure, Roger Taylor signed up as an able seaman on the square-rigger Endeavour 11, bound for New Zealand. The voyage turned into a terrifying ordeal as the ship was caught in a tropical storm. Embayed between two headlands the ship was driven towards a hostile lee shore. The Endeavour 11 finally struck land in horrific conditions at one in the morning. There seemed little chance of survival.

Followeng this formative experiance, Roger resolved that from then on he would ever only go to sea on his own terms, single-handed and in easy manageable yachts. He built the 19' "Roc" and twice crossed the Tasman Sea in her - the smallest craft then to have made the crossing.