Sailing Magazine
pic by Bill Rowntree/Knox-Johnston archive/PPL
By Richard Crockett
Having covered the winning finish of the Vendee Globe Race about ten days ago, and with the stragglers in the race still spread across the course, now’s a good time to share a feature which remembers the original race – now some 57 years later!
An extract from this feature said: “But 2004 also marks the 35th anniversary of the first solo non-stop round the world race – The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Back in 1968, the Flat Earth Society still had a voice, and though Neil Armstrong had just walked on the moon, few expected any of the original nine contestants to complete the course. They were almost right.”
The Frenchman Bernard Moitessier made a significant decision when almost certain to overtake Knox-Johnston and claim both the first, and fastest records. His announcement to carry on around the world – ‘To save my soul’ – stunned everyone. Writing in his log book, Moitessier explained. “I have no desire to return to Europe with all its false gods. It is difficult to defend oneself against them – they eat your liver and suck your marrow and brutalise you in the end. To leave Europe and then go back again is senseless. I will return there one day but I think only as a tourist, not to live. I know that life is a battle, but in modern Europe this battle is idiotic.”
This feature provides many comparisons between Robin Knox-Johnston’s ‘Suhaili’ and Mike Golding’s open 60 ‘Ecover’ – and the differences not necessarily just between botas, but all the way down to hardware choices, navigation equipment and even food.
It’s another very interesting read.
READ IT ALL HERE: Pages from 2004 11 – SAILING Magazine – OCR
