In one of Commander Bill King's six books, he describes himself as "a horrid small boy and rather an untalented one". Whatever the truth of that description when he was a child, the 97-year-old commander is neither horrid nor untalented, as the briefest of meetings will attest. Despite his age and profound deafness, (caused by "nine six inch guns being set off under my nose when I was 18"), he is charming, with a wicked sense of humour and an unrivalled zest for life.

Commander Bill King.

Famous as a submarine commander, sailor, author and exponent of the organic way of life, Commander King has put his long life to good use despite telling me that living forever would be no good as "you're always cold".

A submarine commander during World War Two, Commander King was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Battle of Britain Star, the Burma Star and the Arctic Emblem, among others. He formally retired from the Navy in 1948 after a glittering career.

After his retirement Commander King married his wife Anita, a cousin of Winston Churchill who grew up in Monaghan's Castle Leslie. They moved to Oranmore, where they bought Oranmore Castle for £200, because "nobody wanted to live in an old castle."

When the Kings moved into Oranmore Castle, it was in a state of disrepair. "The high tide used to come into the Great Hall – I remember getting up one day to find my father-in-law, who used to always wear a kilt, sweeping dead fish out of the Great Hall," explains Bill, laughing at the memory. Nowadays it is a cosy family home scattered with reminders of the interesting life Bill has lead, including a samurai sword he keeps by his bed, having been warned years ago that he was a target for the IRA.

He has enjoyed living in Oranmore, and clearly loves his adopted home village, where he says has had "twenty years of the best fox-hunting in the world," blissfully unaware of the controversy currently surrounding that hobby.

Commander King's best-known exploit is his single-handed circumnavigation of the world. He was the oldest sailor to complete this feat, at the age of 58. He did so in the specially built two-masted plywood schooner Galway Blazer II, after being advised that sailing would relieve the stress and claustrophobia caused by fifteen years spent in submarines.

"I was the first person to go around the world south of the inhabited world, I went right around. But you know, I had plenty of time to read – the boat would look after itself, so I read deeply. I read the New Testament, the Koran, and 'The Light of Asia', about Zen Buddhism." Asked which approach he felt had all the answers, Commander King says: "They all teach love, peace and forgiveness. But what do their followers do? We had the Spanish Inquisition, and then the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Muslims and Hindus cutting each other up…"

He completed the circumnavigation in 1970, after three attempts. Although he has been lauded for his achievements, he says now that he "shouldn't have done it", as it was too much strain on his wife.

He has authored six books, all of which he claims were written "with my wife by my elbow, that's why they're well written – she was the writer." 'The Stick and the Stars', 'Capsize', 'Adventure in Depth', 'Dive and Attack', 'The Wheeling Stars: A Guide for Lone Sailors', and 'Kamikaze: the Wind of God', were all written with Anita's help, and are available in a special section of Oranmore library.

Recently, Bill has enacted the principles he read about on his circumnavigation, by taking part in a peace initiative organised by a group in Amsterdam, in which he and the son of a Japanese submariner he killed during World War II together planted a tree of peace and reconciliation.

At the age of 97 Bill says he can still sail. "Oh yes… I can still sail, but I don't want to get cold, you see. I don't think I'll sail round Cape Horn again!"

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