Sailing Magazine
By Richard Crockett
In the first transatlantic radio-telephone interview with Bruce Dalling, the Springbok yachtsman said yesterday that he had been in the lead in the solo race across the Atlantic by an estimated 120 to 240 miles before he was becalmed off Newfoundland.
Brian Lello conducted the interview and congratulated Dalling personally.
Dalling replied: “Thanks – but I honestly feel as though I’ve come in stone last. I should have crossed the line first. I was confident I had it in the bag – then I took the wrong decision.
“I went south, to try and pick up the south-westerlies and Williams went north, and picked up a good northwesterly wind that took him clear through to Newport while I lay becalmed for three day.”
At this stage he had heard on the BBC Overseas Service that aircraft spottings put him 120 to 140 miles ahead of Williams.
When asked how he felt about Geoffrey Williams being fed with computerised course instructions from London each day, Dalling said he did not hold this against him.
READ MORE HERE: 1968 06 30 – Bruce Dalling Archives – 002603 – OCR
Sadly this newspaper feature continues on page 2, but page 2 does not feature in my archives. Should anyone have a full copy of this, please share it with me.
