In 1968 Sir Robin Knox Johnson was the only competitor to complete the first single handed circum navigation of the Globe. Travelling some 30000 miles from Falmouth non stop using just charts, a sextant and compass. For four months his radio did not function and he was thought to have been lost. The Times had already drafted his obituary ready for publication. When he arrived back at Falmouth he was quick to point out that everyone but him thought he was lost!
The event led to Britain’s Sir Robin Knox-Johnston becoming the first man to sail solo non stop around the globe as French sailing icon Bernard Moitessier decided to abort the race and continue east after rounding Cape Horn to make a second loop around the world ‘to save my soul’ from what he saw as an increasingly commercial world.
The Falmouth Customs came alongside and when they asked him where he had come from he replied “Falmouth”. They decided not to charge him import Duty on a couple of bottles of whiskey and brandy he had on board when he departed.
Sir Robin (in the same yacht, Suhali, he used 50 years ago) joined the departing entrants at Falmouth in June this year for their warm up race to Les Sables d’Olonne where the race would start from. It appears that no UK council had the foresight to finance the event from a UK Port!
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this amazing achievement, 17 sailors from 12 Countries - including the only female sailor Susie Goodall from the UK, set out on 1st July from Les Sables d’Olonne, on a 9 – 10 month solo odyssey, to re-create the original Sunday Times Golden Globe race in 1968/69, their vessels must be pre 1988 and have no electronic navigation instruments or mobile phones.
However, in the interest of safety, the Echomax Active XS RTE Echomax passive and inflatable EM230i are mandatory on all vessels.
All vessels progress can be monitored via the Golden Globe website: http://goldengloberace.com/fr/livetracker
