Graham Danton commenced his seafaring career in 1946 on the training ship HMS Worcester, afterwards serving with the Port Line to Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Africa, West Indies and the Fiji Islands. He obtained the Extra Master Mariner's Certificate in 1957, gaining the year's highest marks in the examination. For this he was awarded a Royal Society of Arts Silver Medal and also the Griffiths Award by the Merchant Navy and Airline Officers' Association. For many years he was Senior Lecturer in Seamanship, Cargo Carriage and Ship Maintenance at Plymouth Polytechnic, since renamed Plymouth University. Though retired, he is now a newspaper columnist and broadcasts for BBC radio.