GIPSY moth IV

14 CLASSIC BoAt NoVEmBER 2005

Gipsy moth IV, Sir Francis Chichester’s world-girdling ketch and symbol of 1960s exploration, was taken out of her ignominious berth at Greenwich and restored. As she sets off around the world again, Steffan meyric hughes reports on the rebirth of a legend

GIPSY moth IVAround again

Publisher, daredevil

aviator and oStAR winner

Francis Chichester – his

aim was “to get sport

out of trying”

I nside Westminster Abbey’s south cloister, the little-known Navigators’ memorial Plaque records the names,

vessels and routes of “the three great English circumnavigators”: Sir Francis Drake, Captain James Cooke, and Sir Francis Chichester. I t ’s as clear an indication as any of the way Chichester captured the nation’s imagination when PP

L

GIPSY moth IV

15CLASSIC BoAt NoVEmBER 2005

the famous shot of Gipsy moth IV

running down her easting in heavy seas

as she navigated Cape horn in 1967.

“Wild horses could not drag me there in

a small boat again,” said Chichester.

he sailed single-handed around the world in 1966/7. he stopped only once, in Sydney, following the route of the clipper ships; the infamous ‘eastabout’ way through the Southern ocean and rounding the three great capes.

Chichester was 65 when he finished. With its record-breaking speed of pass- age, heavy sponsorship and coverage on

the BBC and in the Sunday times and the Guardian newspapers, the voyage sculpted solo circumnavigation into the shape we recognise today, and prompted the Golden Globe race the following year.

It’s easy to forget now, in the sobriety of Westminster Abbey, with the sound of tourists stifling coughs in the background, but Chichester – and his voyage – was a

legend of the late 60s, a symbol of an extraordinary time of exploration: a decade that started with the first voyage to the bottom of the sea and ended with the moon landing. his return to Plymouth in 1967 was attended by as many as half a million cheering fans. Gipsy moth had circled the world in the sailing time of 226 days, narrowly missing her target of

mA

IN P

ho

to: G

RAh

Am

SN

oo

k, IN

SEt:

PPL

GIPSY moth IV

16 CLASSIC BoAt NoVEmBER 2005

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

Chichester never liked Gipsy moth IV. their relationship was one of mutual antagonism, from the glassy foredeck that sent Chichester flying, injuring his leg during trials in the Solent, to his various complaints about the “cantankerous ketch”, which fill the second chapter of Gipsy moth Circles the World.

It was a duel that began before Gipsy moth was launched, as the boat was much bigger than Chichester had originally wanted – a result of compromises between him and the designers to design a yacht with a difficult brief: to take a crew of one – an old one at that – around the world as quickly as possible. the first time he saw her on the water, he remarked to his wife Sheila, “my God she’s a rocker.” their relationship never improved. Despite Chichester’s complaints though, Gipsy moth accomplished what she was designed to do: the longest distance sailed without landfall was nearly doubled from Vito Dumas’ record of 7,400 miles – and a sailing time of 226 days to cover 28,500 miles didn’t just break records, it set the new yardstick.

Colin Silvester was one of the designers who worked on Gipsy moth IV, and now acts as custodian of the Illingworth and Primrose design records. he feels it’s time to give the designers some credit for Chichester’s achievement. “Angus [Primrose] had to give him the biggest, lightest, fastest boat he could and I think

he did this remarkably well. She had to be light enough to keep moving in light airs, and strong enough to cope with the Southern ocean.” She had to be light so she could be driven by a sail area manageable for one man. She had to be big to carry the waterline length necessary to generate a good hull speed.

two of Chichester’s main complaints were that Gipsy moth was initially very tender while heeling, and that she required

constant sail-changing. Colin Silvester explains that “she was designed to keep the wetted surface down and pick up form stability when she heeled. She was meant to sail on her ear. By and large she did it.” In this respect, Gipsy moth was similar to Pen Duick II, the first boat designed for the rigours of the oStAR, and Chichester’s nemesis when he was beaten in that race by tabarly in 1964, having won the first in 1960.

Nigel Irens – designer of the Gipsy moth of today, Ellen macArthur’s B&Q – is cautious, stating that “the real acid test will be her second circumnavigation”.

Whether someone will dare to be as honest as Chichester is unlikely though, as Gipsy moth is now a revered celebrity dressed in the sling-and-arrow-proof armour of a noble cause.

I don’t blame Chichester one iota [for his complaints],” justifies David Green, boss at the UkSA. “the boat was too late, too big, his leg was injured and the bottle didn’t break!”

the design Chichester never liked

Specification

LoA: 53ft 1in (16.2m)

LWL: 38ft 6in (11.7m)

Beam: 10ft 6in (3.2m)

Draught: 7ft 9in (2.4m)

Sail area: 854sqft (79.3m2)

PPL

PPL

CoLI

N S

ILVE

StER

GIPSY moth IV

17CLASSIC BoAt NoVEmBER 2005

You say you want a revolutionSir Robin knox-Johnston tells CB a little about the difference between circumnavigation 60s style and the world of the modern circumnavigator:

“In straight sailing terms, it’s easier now because they know it can be done – we didn’t. Communications are reliable and weather information is available. things like food and clothing have moved on, as well as sail-making and building materials. And, as voyages are so much faster, there is also less weight aboard, and less wear and tear

on boats and skippers. Finally, you only have to look at the boats in use then to appreciate that no one knew what the ideal boat for a circumnavigation was; we took what we thought were the right boats and hoped they were.”

For its time, Chichester’s was a modern circumnavigation, characterised by sponsorship, a boat built for the purpose and regular, if sparse, communication with the media. one look at the drop-down panel (see p18) on Gipsy moth’s nav station that describes so neatly the “then and now of technology” tells the story though. From the long months of solitude punctuated by occasional radio dispatches of the 1960s voyages to the

push-button connectivity and team back-up of the record-breaking voyages of the macArthurs of the world today, it’s clear that long-distance solo voyaging has come a long way from its misanthropic, Corinthian beginnings to a big-money, technological challenge, where every hour gained in speed is a small victory. the two worlds may collide though... Dame Ellen has been murmuring about taking Gipsy moth across the Atlantic when the venerable old girl returns home for the second time in 2008.

matching the time of the great clippers like Cutty Sark; but it didn’t matter. Every record in the book had been smashed – including the longest solo passage of 14,100 miles to his stopover in Sydney– and a new era in circumnavigation had begun. the Queen knighted Chichester with the same sword used to honour Francis Drake, and he became a national hero.

But Chichester hated Gipsy moth IV from the moment he saw her launched, and, until late last year, the purpose-built Illingworth & Primrose-designed 54ft (17m) ketch lay semi-buried in a pit next to Cutty Sark at Greenwich – “lying there in silent pain,” as a Dire Straits song about the boat and her skipper later put it.

Fast forward to 2002. Yachting monthly’s editor Paul Gelder, looking for a way to celebrate the magazine’s centenary in 2006, struck upon the idea of sending Gipsy moth around again crewed by underprivileged youngsters: “We had been visiting Gipsy moth for a while,” says Gelder. “the omens seemed right; our centenary would coincide with 40 years since Chichester’s voyage. thinking of it

PPL

RDF: the satnav of its day.

Chichester listening for morse

code on a radio direction finder

GIPSY moth IV

18 CLASSIC BoAt NoVEmBER 2005

wasn’t the issue. It was a tailor-made opportunity.” the real issue was finding – read ‘funding’ if you like – a way to save Gipsy moth. When the Uk Sailing Academy (UkSA) stepped in, in october 2004, with £40,000 of the necessary cash and the same again in enthusiasm, things started moving very fast, starting with the purchase of Gipsy moth from the maritime trust for the token £1 and a gin and tonic. Chichester’s own spirit left him when the gin did, so the drink would symbolise hope and high spirits.

the portent was borne out on 17 November last year when she was lifted from her trench and taken back to the yard where she was built: Camper & Nicholsons in Gosport. twelve-thousand man-hours were squeezed into 150 days by a huge team that included shipwrights from Gipsy moth’s original build, staff of the UkSA, and the tireless efforts of Campers, who did the work at cost price.

her launch on 20 June – “five weeks ahead of schedule,” according to Camper’s project manager martyn Langford – was a big occasion attended by a crowd of hundreds, and ringed by television news vans. It proved to be the beginning of an unprecedented series of fêting for the ketch: the VIB’s summer schedule has included opening Cowes Week and the Southampton Boat Show and appearing at IFoS and the Fleet Review, as well as posing for photo-shoots with patrons Princess Anne and Dame Ellen macArthur.

the restoration time was running out for Gipsy moth IV when she was exhumed in November last year. thirty-seven years of rainwater had taken their toll, and surveyor Bill Shaw explained that she was in “pretty poor condition overall. If we hadn’t pulled her out when we did, she might not have made it.”

the maritime Workshop had renewed Gipsy moth’s decking in 1997, something that Bill believes played a large part in her survival. her hull was generally sound, but the 31-page survey showed that the cockpit, with the most exposure to the weather, was completely rotten and needed replacing in its entirety. other problems included rotten planking and modernisation for her new duty as a sail-training vessel for youths. this included mounting

the moment the young circumnavigators’ parents would never have believed: on 20 June, Gipsy moth IV was lowered into the water after 37 years in a dry-dock. At the original launch, Chichester was full of foreboding. this time, the atmosphere was one of optimism.

Above: original

instruments fold up

to show the modern

navigation system

Above left: the deck

fittings are original

Above right:

Chichester tunes the

marconi kestrel radio

Left: the original

stove, restored in

a garden shed by

a supporter

PPL

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

PPL

19CLASSIC BoAt NoVEmBER 2005

the original instruments, including the echo sounder and marconi kestrel radio, on a panel that folds down over their modern counterparts – the ubiquitous satnav and associated equipment.

the idea was to restore Gipsy moth to a condition as near to original as the rigours of a life on the ocean wave, and subsequently as a living exhibit, would allow. For this reason, the hull, six layers of cold-moulded African mahogany, was given a final coating of epoxy, a decision the UkSA and Yachting monthly “agonised over”.

the work was done at the Camper & Nicholsons yard and was characterised mainly by its extraordinary speed: from the time when the progressively destructive surveys ended and the restoration began properly to her launch was only 150 days.

this was possible because of the huge support shown by the British marine industry, who, according to Paul Gelder, have been “overwhelmingly supportive” – the C&N boatyard waived their profit margin for the exercise; staff at the UkSA worked to restore

the masts; and a host of other people helped, including shipwrights involved in the original Gipsy moth

project. At times C&N staff put in 90-hour weeks and up to 30 people worked on her at once, some from home – retired C&N shipwright Eric Goulding

built a new companionway hatch in his shed. Eric worked on Gipsy moth the first time around. the “can-

tankerous ketch” is now reckoned to be 87 per cent original and will be a sailing exhibit at a new maritime heritage centre in Cowes, a move which should insure her survival for the foreseeable future.

Above left: the

cockpit was rebuilt

Above right: Gm4

with cockpit

removed

Left: As Chichester

had it – though he’d

be surprised to see

it this level

Right: Rotten bow

planking was cut

out and replaced

New hatch by

C&N shipwright

Eric Goulding

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

GRA

hA

m S

No

ok

PPL

GIPSY moth IV

20 CLASSIC BoAt NoVEmBER 2005

the glitz and press coverage that follow Gipsy moth wherever she goes is simply astonishing – never more so than when she recently left Plymouth, for the second time, to circumnavigate with her young charges. And the boat, though restored with great fortitude, still isn’t a kind and sweet- handling yacht. Sailing her in the Solent revealed excessive heel – at least initially – and, as skipper Richard Baggett told tV crews on the 25 September at the boat’s departure – “she didn’t go backwards in 1966 and she doesn’t go backwards now.”

the affection for Gipsy moth IV is in marked contrast to the beginning of her life: an ominous launch at which she stuck on the slipway; a launch which was too late, of a boat that was too big, at which the bottle didn’t break, in a cere-mony Chichester didn’t approve of, and a launch that heralded the dissolution of the then masters of ocean-racing design, Illingworth and Primrose.

In a sad parallel to the Illingworth and Primrose story 40 years ago, Gipsy moth IV was the last boat ever to be (re-)launched at the Camper & Nicholsons yard (see tell tales, p7), which will close in october. Chichester’s voyage marked the beginning of one era and this voyage coincides with the end of another. But could there be a better epitaph for the famous yard?

As we went to press, Gipsy moth had just left Plymouth on 25 September to circle the world again. this time she will take two and a half years and transit through the Panama Canal, with support donated by the Blue Water Rally cruising organisation. She will circumnavigate in 31 legs, each crewed by a skipper and mate, a journalist and three young people. the crew will partake in every aspect of the boat’s maintenance, from trimming sails

mA

xIN

E h

EAth

Lively Lady on 4 July 1968 Sir Alec Rose, the “greengrocer from Southsea” and unassuming 59-year-old, became a folk hero after circumnavigating single-handed in Lively Lady, the

36ft (11.5m) Fred Shepherd-designed teak and paduak yawl, a year after Chichester. Rose was duly knighted by the queen and his boat has been sailed by the meridian trust since his death in 1991. Rose had intended to leave a few weeks before Chichester to “make a match of it”, but a series of unlucky incidents – culminating in his boat falling off her stand – killed the idea, and he had to leave a year later. offshore adventurer Alan Priddy heard of Gipsy moth’s plans to do it again and decided to refurbish Lively Lady to go, too, with her own cargo of underprivileged

young people. history has repeated itself though: this time red tape has dictated that Priddy (who holds a number of offshore records including a transatlantic crossing via the Arctic Circle in an open RIB) and the rest of his afterguard crew must undergo training to get the qualifications necessary for insurance. Look out for the full story when the oldest surviving circumnavigating yacht goes round again next year. to make a donation to the charitable fund, see ‘Supporters of Lively Lady’ in Usefuls, p91.

DA

N h

oU

Sto

N

ALE

C Ro

SE

to cleaning the loo. For the teens, it will be the first time dealing without ‘comforts’ like showers, hot water and tV – and learning some of life’s lessons that attend such deprivation. Skipper Richard Baggett has confidence in their ability to learn a lot in a

short time: “It’ll be intense for them, they’ll learn a lot because they’ll have to.”

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Robert mcLaren, 16, who, in his original letter of application to the scheme, described home – a council flat in a high-rise estate, where his mother doesn’t like him going out for fear of his safety. other

participants include leukaemia recoverers. When Chichester went

around in 1966/7, many thought he was too old. his spirit of determination is something the Gipsy moth team hopes will be passed down to inspire the

voyage’s participants – and, through teachers’ packs in every

school in the Uk, to a new generation. “I hate being frightened, but, even more,

I detest being prevented by fright,” was how Chichester described his voyage. the project, which still needs funding (see Usefuls, p91), will be transmitting live updates and video footage to www.gipsymoth.org. the charts here show her 1966/7 and 2005/6 proposed routes.