( CNN ) -- `` Cartoons are about doom and disaster -- and you do n't get more doom and disaster than in a German prisoner of war camp , '' says Mike Peyton , the man uniquely hailed as the world 's greatest yachting cartoonist . As a teenage illustrator from the British mining town of Durham , Peyton was captured by World War II German forces while drawing maps of the north African desert for the Intelligence Corps . Yet amid the horrors of his prison camp - the 91-year-old recalls eating Nazi guard dogs that had been clubbed to death - Peyton carved a unique space for laughter by drawing wry , darkly humorous cartoons . Published in a prisoner-run newspaper , the drawings poked fun at camp life , offering Peyton a distraction from the everyday brutality and his fellow inmates a rare source of joy . They would also spark the beginnings of a career spanning seven decades , more than 20 books and the birth of an unusual new genre in illustration - nautical cartooning . It 's a genre that Peyton has dominated for 70 years , amassing followers across the world with his trademark , roughly scribbled drawings of rain-sodden sailors naively headed for impending doom . If the leap from a 1942 prison camp to hopeless yachtsmen lost at sea seems huge , Peyton has the answer : `` The secret to cartoons is you always need something going wrong . '' Following the war , the then 24-year-old continued sketching his droll observations of everyday life . But it was n't until Peyton bought a boat in his late 20s , setting up a business offering charter cruises , that he began to turn his illustrations to sailing . Now a retrospective of his work - `` The World of Peyton '' - published this week , features 150 of his favorite sketches . Read related : 'Queen of yachting ' captures sailing 's golden era on film . Sadly it will also be Peyton 's last book , after gradually losing much of his eyesight . `` Mike has reached the point now where he is going blind , '' Janet Murphy , publishing director at Adlard Coles Nautical , said . `` It seemed such a cruel disability for a cartoonist to have their eyesight shot down . So we asked Mike to put together his best cartoons for a final retrospective . '' Having been published in a plethora of British magazines ranging from Yachting Monthly to the Church of England Times , Peyton admitted it was a huge undertaking whittling down his immense collection of work . Science and technology periodical New Scientist paid tribute to the man who began drawing for them in the 1950s , claiming he had `` seen off more editors than anyone else at the magazine . '' It added : `` His sharp eye and satire often contrasts with a softer , gentler approach when the subject warrants it . '' But It is among sailing enthusiasts that Peyton 's name brings most smiles . As Janet explained : `` Mike is synonymous with nautical cartoons . '' `` He is on a pinnacle all on his own -- Mike is the one yachting cartoonist people think of . He 's got a unique skill of seeing the funny side in a typical situation -- whether it 's people huddling under waterproof gear or wives looking forlornly out the window as they lose their husbands to sailing in the snow on Christmas Day , '' she said . `` There 's no one who can touch him , both because he 's been going for 70 years and because he 's been so prolific over that period . '' Before Peyton , there simply were no yachting cartoonists , she argued : `` He blazed a trail . There was humorous writing around sailing but up until the war it was still quite an elitist pastime , which people took very seriously . `` It 's quite hard to keep humor going year after year . But that 's Mike 's skill . Those everyday sailing mishaps such as tweaking bits of rope or relying on the weather strike a chord with people all over the world . '' After the war Peyton pursued his love of drawing , heading to Manchester Art School where he met future wife and now successful children 's author Kath Peyton . The penniless newlyweds spent their honeymoon sleeping rough across Europe , paying their way by collecting waste paper en route . `` I reckon I am the only bride that ever had to collect salvage in Paris to earn her fare back across the Channel , '' Kath recalls in Dick Durham 's autobiography on Peyton , titled -- naturally enough - `` The World 's Greatest Yachting Cartoonist . '' Returning to the UK , the couple set up home in rural Essex on the River Crouch . But instead of spending their hard-earned savings on renovating their dilapidated cottage as planned , Peyton bought a boat -- much to his wife 's dismay . His reason ? `` You ca n't sail a house , '' he told CNN . When not drawing , the father-of-two worked as a sailor ; taking out charter parties , racing boats and delivering yachts everywhere from London to the Baltic Sea . `` I did n't have to think up cartoons -- I saw them happen . They 're all based on real life , '' he said . `` I remember years ago I thought I 'd run out of ideas . But I never have . ''
` ` The world 's greatest political cartoonist , '' Mike Smith , began career in German concentration camp . The 91-year - old says the secret to cartoons is ` ` something goes wrong '' Forced to give up , after gradually going blind . New retrospective book , ` ` The world of Peyton , '' Will be last .