The days when the pop music pirates ruled the airwaves from converted trawlers off the British coast remain a fond memory for many.

Nights spent under bedclothes with the transistor switched to Radio Caroline and Radio London were part of a soft rebellion for tens of thousands of teenagers in the 1960s.

Eventually outlawed by the British government, Caroline continued to broadcast from international waters and still blasts rock and pop around the world via the Internet and satellite from land-based studios near Rochester.

One man at the helm of the Caroline story is author and radio presenter Nigel Harris - who can still be heard regularly on Caroline and occasionally on kmfm.

His life in broadcasting is aired in his book Ships In Troubled Waters, which turns back the radio dial more than 30 years with a fascinating peep into his time with Radio Caroline from the late 1970s to the present.

He joined the Mi Amigo ship in 1977 and was a friendly, familiar voice for millions until the boat sank in March 1980. It was as he was taking the tender away from Caroline that Nigel almost lost his life in stormy seas. He was washed overboard while answering the call of nature on the deck of the little fishing boat.

Shattered by the end of a broadcasting legend, Nigel's love affair with offshore quelled for a while but he soon was looking for radio equipment to help rebuild and convert ships for offshore radio projects, searching for a new Caroline vessel, in between working as a driver for the health service.

He returned to the sea with the new Radio Caroline on board the Ross Revenge, regarded by many as THE state-of-the art radio ship, and stayed with it through to the end of 1990, during which time he met many colleagues, some of whom were to resurface in his later career - Johnny Lewis, Bob Mower, Graham Cook, Pete Chicago and others.

He left when Caroline ran aground on a combination of low funds and a wrecking storm in 1991, which saw it stranded with its spirit broken on the Goodwin Sands. It survived and was eventually towed to Dover and then onto Tilbury where it remains for offshore open day events.

Stints with the Voice of Peace in Israel, Invicta Radio, Essex FM, European Klassik Rock radio, CTFM and others kept Nigel's radio career afloat.

He was also sustained by his other love - he is church organist at St Michael's Church in his home town of Sittingbourne, and has played in the splendid settings of Canterbury and Rochester cathedrals.

His love for offshore radio remains undimmed and it is a genuine affection shared by listeners and presenters alike, even at a distance of decades.

He said: "There was something so special about it all. The interaction with listeners and friendships you had on board created a real close-knit community feel, and it transmitted over the airwaves."

Nigel's part in Radio Caroline history has been assured. He was honoured at the annual offshore radio convention in Amsterdam where he was presented with an award for the longest serving Caroline broadcaster, 1977 to the present.

The no-holds-barred story Ships in Troubled Waters is published by My Way Publishing and is available fromwww.radiocor.net, priced £12.99.