Gipsy Moth Circles the World (The Sailor's Classics #1) - Hardcover

Chichester, Francis

4.09

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9780071364492: Gipsy Moth Circles the World (The Sailor's Classics #1)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0071364498 ISBN 13: 9780071364492

Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2000

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This work tells the story of Frances Chichester, who aged 65, set out alone from Plymouth in his 53-foot ketch "Gypsy Moth VI" in August 1966 and sailed eastward around the world through the wild Southern Ocean, stopping only once - the first to accomplish this - in Sydney. Only nine yachts had previously circumnavigated by way of Cape Horn, and of them six had been capsized or somersaulted at least once. This 28,000-mile voyage, completed in May 1967, established new records for speed and endurance, captured the imagination of the world, and earned a knighthood for Chichester upon his return.

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From the Back Cover:

The delight in stories well told is as intrinsic to who we are as a species as toolmaking or song. And from time immemorial, few narrative genres have had the power to so stir the emotions or captivate the imagination as the true account of a lone adventurer's triumph over the titanic forces of nature. Among the handful of such tales to emerge in the twentieth century, one of the most ENDuring surely must be Sir Francis Chichester's account of his solitary, nine-month journey around the world in his 53-foot ketch Gipsy Moth IV. The story of how the sixty-five-year-old navigator single-handedly circumnavigated the globe, the whole way battling hostile seas as well as his boat's numerous design flaws, is a tale of superhuman tenacity and ENDurance to be read and reread by sailors and armchair adventurers alike.

This handsome first volume in The Sailor's Classics series restores in its entirety for a new generation of readers Francis Chichester's extraordinarily candid personal account of his adventure. First published in 1967, just months after the completion of Chichester's historic journey, Gipsy Moth Circles the World was an instant international best-seller. It inspired the first solo around-the-world race and remains a timeless testament to the spirit of adventure. The Sailor's Classics edition features a new introduction by series editor Jonathan Raban.

About the Author:

Sir Francis Chichester was a lifetime adventurer. In 1929 he flew his plane solo from London to Sydney. In 1931, while trying to complete the circle from Sydney back to London, he was nearly killed when he flew into a half-mile span of steel telephone wires in Katsuura, Japan. As the years passed and flying was transformed from a pioneering activity to a technologically sophisticated one, Chichester turned to sailing as an outlet for his restless spirit. He made a record-breaking solo crossing of the North Atlantic in 1962, and then conceived his around-the-world voyage as his next challenge, saying, I hate being frightened but, even more, I detest being prevented by fright. At the same time the Horn had a fearsome fascination, and it offered one of the greatest challenges left in the world. Chichester died in the 1970s.

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