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At sixty-five Francis Chichester set out to sail single-handed round the world. This is the story of that adventure.
SAILING ROUND THE WORLD
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, 1966, 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 his new 16-metre boat, Gipsy
Moth.
Chichester followed the route of the great nineteenth century clipper ships. But the
clippers had 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 without 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, the damage to the boat was not too serious. Chichester calmly got into bed and went to sleep. When he woke up, the sea had become calm again. Still, he
could. not help thinking that if anything should happen, the nearest person he could contact by radio, unless there was a ship nearby, would 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 f rom a night mare. Wild horses could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that sinister Southern Ocean again.
Just before 9 0'clock on Sunday evening 28 May, 1967 , he arrived back in England, where a quarter of a million people were waiting to welcome him. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him with the very sword that Queen Elizabeth I had used almost 400 years earlier to knight Sir Francis Drake after he had sailed round the world for the first time. The whole voy
age 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 amquered it. In doing so, he had undoubtedly learnt something about himself . Moreover, in the moderri age when human beings depend so much on machines, he had given men throughout the world new pride.
New Words
single-handed / a. (done) by one person alone
& ad.
adventure /n.
solo / a. single-handed
transatlantic /a. crossing the Atlantic Ocean
lung / n. part of the body with which one breathes
cancer / n.
determined / a. with one's mind firmly made up
determine v.
determination n.
retire / vi. stop working at one's job(because of age)
voyage / n. sea journey
route / n. way from one place to another
clipper / n.
crew / n. group of people who work together on a ship or
aeroplane
steer / vt. make (esp.a boat or road vehicle) go in a par-
ticular direction
device / n. a piece of equipment
steering device n.
damage / vt. cause harm or injury to
n. harm, injury
gale / n. very strong wind
cover vt. travel (a certain distance)
previously / ad. before
previous a.
attempt / v. & n. try
dissuade / vt. prevent (sb.)from doing sth. by reasoning
treacherous / a. more dangerous than it seems
cape / n.
rough a. (of weather or the sea) stormy;not calm fortunately / ad. luckily
fortunate a.
contact / vt. get in touch with
nearby i/ ad. close by
following / a. next; to be mentioned immediately
waken v. (cause to ) wake
nightmare / n. terrible dream
drag vt. pull along with great effort
sinister / a.
knight / n.
vt.
sword / n.
accomplish / vt. finish successfully
conquer / vt. overcome
undoubtedly /ad. certainly
moreover /ad. in addition
human / a. of or concerning people
being / n. a living thing, esp. a person
Phrases & Expressions
set out begin a course of action
give up stop doing
be determined to (do) have a strong will to ( do)
(all) by oneself (completely) alone
in spite of not taking notice of;not caring about
by far by a large amount or degree ...
turn over (cause to) fall over,upset
can not help can not keep oneself from
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