“The Ship Would Not Travel Due West” copyright Peter Marsh From the late 1800s until the 1960s, the development of the modern sailing yacht was an evolutionary process, occasionally interrupted by a flash of insight. Racing and cruising yachts were little more than refinements of the last sail-driven fishing schooners. In the first half of… Continue reading 1960-2000 – The Singlehanded Trans-Atlantic Race
Tag: Francis Chichester
1966-2006 – The Long Strange Trip of the Gipsy Moth IV
Chichester’s Legendary GM IV, Myth and Reality – copyright Peter Marsh In the 1960’s, It was English pioneer aviator and sailor Francis Chichester who became famous for winning the first Singlehanded Trans-Atlantic Race in 1960 in 40 days at the age of 59. He then invented the concept of racing the clock in 1962 with… Continue reading 1966-2006 – The Long Strange Trip of the Gipsy Moth IV
The 1964 OSTAR and Me
How I Caught Sailing Fever in Plymoth- Copyright Peter Marsh I was 16 when I read about the second Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR) starting in Plymouth, England on 23 May. I knew I had to go, which caused my mother distress because I was doing something completely out of character: skipping my grammar-school education for… Continue reading The 1964 OSTAR and Me
50 Years Since Eric Tabarly Won Solo Trans-At (1964-2014)
Was Pen Duick II the First Modern Singlehanded Racer by PMarsh In 1964, when a motley crew of thirteen Anglo and two French sailors arrived in Plymouth (SW England) for the second Singlehanded Trans-Atlantic Race, the scene was nothing like modern-day offshore racing. The fleet was moored in Millbay Docks, a vacant commercial dock basin… Continue reading 50 Years Since Eric Tabarly Won Solo Trans-At (1964-2014)