Velux 5 Oceans: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston Places Third in Leg 3

BILBAO, Spain, May 4, 2007 (The Boating Channel) – Nearly 40 years after Sir Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person to sail non-stop around the world in the 1968-69 Sunday Times Golden Globe, the 68-year old made history again today as he finished a second solo circumnavigation and completed the Velux 5 Oceans race, one of sailing’s greatest challenges. Sir Robin is now the oldest person to have completed this classic race and his natural ability, determination and perseverance has seen him outdo some of the world’s best skippers and leave him fighting for an overall podium position in the final rankings.

Knox-Johnston has succeeded in the face of constant adversity. Only 165 people have ever successfully sailed solo around the world. Sir Robin was already part of this extraordinary group of sportsmen but has again proved himself. Indeed, he is the pioneer of solo sailing and gave inspiration to a passion that still surrounds races such as the Velux 5 Oceans.

Speaking from the marina in Gexto, where he was met by his brother, friends, supporters, sponsors and shore crew, he commented, “I am very pleased to be back in Bilbao. It was a fantastic welcome. People on the water, the pontoons, everywhere. Bilbao has always been great since the start! For this leg we got the boat together and I had very few problems. At the beginning I decided to sacrifice 30 hours going north as I didn’t believe in the southern course Unai (Basurko, still sailing to Bilbao on his Open 60 Pakea) was taking. But now he has better wind than I had with a nice westerly bringing him back home. I would like to tell him; Unai you are my best friend when you are onshore but God I hate you at sea!”

“Technologies have been my main issue in the Velux 5 Oceans,” Knox-Johnston continued. “I would have preferred to do the race the way it was in 1969. The problem is now we are absolutely dependent on weather programs and I unfortunately didn’t have enough time at the beginning of this project to learn everything. I wish one normal and easy manual would exist for it. This time was easier than 30 years ago; but it is always easier when you know it can be done, which was not the case 40 years ago. Nothing will compare to the first voyage."


It Was My Last Circumnavigation

“It was my last circumnavigation, I won’t do it again, which is sad.," Knox-Johnston announced. "In four years time I will be too old to do it. The Velux 5 Oceans has already been frustrating so I guess in four years time I wouldn’t be competitive enough and it would be too frustrating for me. It is a tough race; firstly you must get round but also get round quickly.”

Smiling broadly and reaching to open his Old Pulteney Single Malt Whisky, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston crossed the leg 3 finish line in Bilbao at 11:22:03 local time (10:22 BST, 09:22 UTC). Just seconds after crossing the line Sir Robin marked his incredible achievement by enjoying a dram of the fine single malt before ceremonially splashing it on the bow in the customary ‘wetting the boat’ celebratory tradition.

As Saga Insurance crossed the line, the legendary skipper was greeted with the cheers of the Basque people. The third leg from Norfolk, Virginia (USA) took the Open 60 16 days, 17 hours and 2 minutes. Sir Robin finished three and a half days behind the winner Bernard Stamm and claims third place in the leg. In the overall rankings, Knox-Johnston is fighting for a podium finish (third) with local Basque hero Unai Basurko. The Bilbao skipper is 100 miles behind Knox-Johnston in this leg but holds a 42-hour lead over the British sailor and therefore looks likely to arrive in Bilbao and snatch third place. Having completed the race in 159 days, 12 hours and 42 minutes, Sir Robin has knocked 153 days off his time in the Sunday Times Golden Globe.

Knox-Johnston’s story in the Velux 5 Oceans has been characterized by passion, commitment and huge interest from the general public around the world. Already hailed for his ground-breaking achievement in 1969, he has again captured the imagination of adventurers around the world with his second solo circumnavigation. Sailing an old generation of the Open 60 racing yacht and taking ownership of the boat only months before the start, he was already at a disadvantage against leading sailors such as Mike Golding, Alex Thomson and Bernard Stamm.

Unprepared and inexperienced in the Open 60 class, he bravely set off from Bilbao last October and sailed straight into hurricane conditions in the atrocious storm off Cape Finisterre. He very nearly made it through before SAGA Insurance was knocked on its side and he damaged his mast track, forcing him to land for repairs. However, he re-joined the race and slowly understood how to get speed from his craft. As Alex Thomson and Mike Golding retired with damaged yachts, Sir Robin kept his boat in one piece and arrived in Fremantle (Western Australia) to take third place and a podium finish.

Technology has been a problem for Sir Robin since day one. Having sailed around the world with nothing but a sextant and the stars for navigation and a VHF radio for communication, the modern day technology was a constant struggle and regularly failed. He sailed through the most isolated parts of the Southern Ocean with no weather information and still kept pace with his younger adversaries. When he first made history, his autopilot was constructed out of metal bars and he drank water that he collected in a bucket on his boom. The Velux 5 Oceans experience was very different.