Before he sailed round the world single-handed, Francis Chichester
had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to fly round
the world but failed. That was in 1931. The years passed. He gave up flying
and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years
old when he won the first solo transatlantic sailing race. His old dream of
going round the world came back, but this time he would sail. His friends
and doctors did not think he could do it, as he had lung cancer. But Chichester
was determined to carry out his plan. In August, 1963, at the age of nearly sixty-five,
an age when many men retire, he began the greatest voyage of his life. Soon, he
was away in this new 16-metre boat, Gipsy Moth. Chichester followed the route of
the great nineteenth century clipper ships. But the clippershad had plenty of crew.
Chichester did it all by himself, even after the main steering device had been damaged
by gales. Chichester covered 14, 100 miles before stopping in Sydney, Australia. This was
more than twice the distance anyone had previously sailed alone. He arrived in Australia
on 12 December, just 107 days out from England. He received a warm welcome from the
Australians and from his family who had flown there to meet him. On shore, Chichester
could not walk with-out help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done enough; he
must not go any further. But he did not listen. After resting in Sydney for a few weeks,
Chichester set off once more in spite of his friends' attempts to dissuade him. The
second half of his voyage was by far the more dangerous part, during which he sailed
round the treacherous Cape Horn. On 29 January he left Australia. The next night,
the blackest he had ever known, the sea became so rough that the boat almost turned over.
Food, clothes, and broken glass were all mixed together. Fortunately, bed and went
to sleep. When he woke up, the sea had become calm the nearest person he could
contact by radio, unless there was a ship nearby, Wild be on an island 885 miles away.
After succeeding in sailing round Cape Horn, Chichester sent the following radio message
to London:" I feel as if I had wakened from a nightmare. Wild horses could not drag me
down to Cape Horn and that sinister Southern Ocean again."Juat before 9 o'clock on Sunday
evening 28 May, 1967, he aeeived back in England, where a quarter of a million people
were waiting to welcome him. Queeh Elizabeth II knigthed him with the very sword that
Queen Elizabeth I had sailed round the world for the first time. The whole voyage from
England and back had covered 28, 500 miles. It had taken him nine months , of which
the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he wanted to accomplish.
Like many other adventurers, Chichester had experienced fear and conquered it. In
doing so, he had undoubtedly learnt something about himself. Moreover, in the modern
age when human beings depend so much on machines, he had given men throughout the
world new pride.