Something very odd happened on the Today programme the other morning. Amid the mountains of bombast that usually fill the Radio 4 airwaves at that time came the calm, modulated tones of a man speaking with great humour, wit and modesty of an extraordinary achievement. It was Sir Robin Knox–Johnston, on the eve of his 80th birthday, marking the anniversary of his greatest triumph.
Almost exactly 50 years ago today he sailed his battered 32ft ketch Suhaili into Falmouth harbour — and history. He had become the first person to sail single-handed around the world without stopping. When Suhaili had slipped out of Falmouth in June the previous year it was almost unnoticed: when it returned it was to worldwide acclaim and crowds of tens of thousands. Sir Robin had completed the 32,000 miles in 312 days and his little boat had taken a fearful pounding from the storms of the Southern Ocean. He’s a man for whom the word ‘intrepid’ doesn’t begin to do justice.
This was 1969, of course, and Sir Robin had zero technology. He navigated the world using his sextant — as his radio had gone down — in much the same way as Captain Cook. Now, boats have become extraordinary pieces of kit. Then it was different; as one expert round-the-worlder put it: ‘To compare Suhaili with the boats of today is like comparing the Wright Brothers with Concorde.’ Now a solitary sailor can video conference their children; for more than eight months Sir Robin was totally without any communication, the only contact being an occasional sighting from the shore or a passing vessel.
But if anyone was going to do it, it was Sir Robin. As one of his veteran sailing companions, Billy King-Harman, told me: ‘He is a remarkably principled individual and a brilliant seaman.
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