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1968 Golden Globe around alone race

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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5371 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/30/2011 : 22:50:30

This week I tuned into the Learning Channel to watch a program about an early round-the-world-sail race called the "Sunday Times Golden Globe" race. Here's how Wikipedia sums it up:

"The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first round-the-world yacht race. The race was controversial due to the failure by most competitors to finish the race and because of the suicide of one entrant; however, it ultimately led to the founding of the BOC Challenge and Vendée Globe round-the-world races, both of which continue to be successful and popular.

The race was sponsored by the British Sunday Times newspaper and was designed to capitalise on a number of individual round-the-world voyages which were already being planned by various sailors; for this reason, there were no qualification requirements, and competitors were offered the opportunity to join and permitted to start at any time between 1 June and 31 October 1968. The Golden Globe trophy was offered to the first person to complete an unassisted, non-stop single-handed circumnavigation of the world via the great capes, and a separate £5,000 prize was offered for the fastest single-handed circumnavigation.

Nine sailors started the race; four retired before leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Of the five remaining, Chay Blyth, who had set off with absolutely no sailing experience,! sailed past the Cape of Good Hope before retiring; Nigel Tetley sank with 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km) to go while leading; Donald Crowhurst, who attempted to fake a round-the-world voyage, began to show signs of mental illness, and then committed suicide; and Bernard Moitessier, who rejected the philosophy behind a commercialised competition, abandoned the race while in a strong position to win and kept sailing non-stop until he reached Tahiti after circling the globe one and a half times.

Robin Knox-Johnston was the only entrant to complete the race, becoming the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world. He was awarded both prizes, and later donated the £5,000 to a fund supporting Crowhurst's family."

The TV program focused on Donald Crowhurst who sailed a Teignmouth Electron, a 40-foot (12 m) trimaran designed by Californian Arthur Piver. According to the program, the boat was unproven in large seas such as those found in the southern ocean, did not point well, and was built with a number of hatches to access the engine, the generator, various portions of the bilge. Turned out that the hatches leaked badly and the captain was forced to go out on the foredeck to pump the bilges at least daily. In the south Atlantic, this may have been doable, but in the southern ocean, impossible. Due to limited time and financial resources, the boat and captain were ill prepared to mount a round-the-world trip. The choice was either to not sail around, or sink during the attempt.

Crowhurst was backed by a number of high pressure investors who demanded that he make the trip, and he tried to comply. He got as far as the southern Atlantic ocean and began to falsify his position. In a day without GPS or satellite beacons, he kept nav records using dead reckoning and position fixes using celestial nevigation. Therefore he set upon a plan to keep two sets of log books - the real one for actual passagemaking, and a fictitious account of his trip across the souther ocean (which he never made).

At the time, it was possible to approximate a boat's geographic position by using triangulation via radio transmissions. So, to evade detection, once he got to the south Atlantic, he inexplicably ceased all radio transmissions.

As the racers progressed, the newspaper printed daily status updates on the racers, which captured the public's imagination. Along the way, several racers' boats were either dismasted or sunk in the process. Meanwhile Crowhurst just waited it out between Brazil and Africa awaiting the front runners to make it around the Tierra Del Fuego at the tip of South America and pass him while heading up through the Atlantic back to England. He allowed the frontrunner, Robin Knox-Johnston, to pass him, then waited for the runner-up to pass so he could arrive third. He reckoned that the first and second's logs would be scrutinized closely, but the third's would not be subject to scrutiny.

As he re-entered the race in third place, he was shocked to learn that the 2nd boat sailed by Nigel Tetley, inexplicably sunk with only a few thousand miles to go, so now Crowhurst became the 2nd. The pressure was too much for him, so he literally abandoned ship somewhere in the tropics. Some time later, the boat was found adrift in the Caribbean with all his records (real and faked) aboard, and was subsequently discredited by popular opinion.

What an entralling story of financial pressures, personal expectations, bad luck, stupid ambition and ultimately of a strong conscience. As the Wiki article goes on to say, Knox-Johnson donated a portion of the winnings to the widow of Mr. Crowhurst. Her story, and the story of one of his sons were included in the program and were heart-wrenching.

If you have an opportunity to read more or watch the program, it is a very worthwhile moral lesson for sailors and other adventurers - know your limits and you can't talk your way out of a lie.

I think this goes back to Sten's "Cruel Mistress" sentiment. In more way than one!

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

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Ryan L
Navigator

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230 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2011 : 23:29:01

Thanks for sharing this!

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dmpilc
Master Marine Consultant

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4593 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2011 : 09:20:32

Preparation and training are key to any successful endeavour. Amazing that there were no qualification requirements.

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Peregrine
Admiral

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830 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2011 : 09:27:21

I saw that too and enjoyed it.
Many years ago I read [url="http://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Bernard-Moitessier/dp/0924486848"]Bernard Moitessier's "The Long Way"[/url] about the same race and his desicion not to finish (first) but to continue to sail around the world again.
You might pick it up.


Underlined words are HOT links

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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5371 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2011 : 18:20:33

It's amazing how much things have changed since the 1960s in terms of safety and preparations for endeavors like these.

Climbing challenging mountain peaks, daredevil aviators, white water paddling, auto racing, and desert, polar and tropical forest explorations have become quite a bit more civilized in these past 50 years.

Not so say there are no longer any dangers, but risk is much better managed these days with modern hardware and electronics, thorough preparation and training, and best-practices skills learned under duress.

We can be proud to stand on the shoulders of yesterday's adventurers and learn from their mistakes.

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vipermagic
1st Mate

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USA
69 Posts

Response Posted - 01/03/2012 : 08:47:21

If anyone has netflix, they have the documentary, its called "Deep Water", and its incredibly interesting.

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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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5902 Posts

Response Posted - 01/03/2012 : 08:57:40

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by vipermagic
 If anyone has netflix, they have the documentary, its called "Deep Water", and its incredibly interesting.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> You might also be able to check out the video from your local public library, if it's in their video collection.

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