| Adapted from a Times online article by Maurice
Chittenden: April 29, 2007
WHEN Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (RKJ) first made history
by sailing around the world alone in the Suhaili, the seas were
alive with whales, and dolphins swam alongside his yacht.
This week he finishes his latest epic voyage in his 60ft
yacht, Saga Insurance. But in 30,000 miles, he says, he has
not seen a single whale.
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston with a smile.
He bemoans the fact that, instead, the oceans have
become overcrowded with giant container ships. Three times they
have nearly run him down. He says that not one of their masters
stopped to see if he was all right or to apologise. “I have
had three very close calls this voyage where ships have not altered
their course. I don’t know if they saw me, or if they did
they didn’t bother. Nobody - apart from two Royal Navy ships
- has stopped to say hello.”
|
|
Killer whale.
RKJ, 68, will sail into the Spanish port of Bilbao
to complete a gruelling round-the-world race. The oceans have changed
so much since he became the first man to circumnavigate the globe
single-handed nonstop almost 40 years ago that he believes it is
no longer safe for him to go it alone. |
Robin photographed one night
during his latest voyage
“I just don’t want to put up with this
any more,” he said last week. “The seas have changed.
I have not seen one whale the whole journey and I am increasingly
stressed by the attitude of merchant shipping." |
|
Whale Tail (Photo: Brenna)
Marine experts believe two centuries of whaling
may have reduced whale numbers to as little as 1% of the original
population. There are now believed to be only 10,000 humpback whales
in the north Atlantic. |
Yacht Saga Insurance - 0900 GMT Tuesday 24th
April 2007 -
Latitude 40 58 North - Longitude 057 10 West
Meanwhile, the seas have become crowded with commercial shipping.
Some countries are increasing the number of ships in their fleets
by 20% a year. |
|
It is seven months since he set sail from Bilbao,
where he is due to arrive this Wednesday or Thursday. RKJ is the
oldest person to compete in the Velux 5 Oceans race, which has been
held under various names every four years since 1982. On one of
his regular blogs, he railed about satellite phones that did not
work. “It was all so much easier 38 years ago when none of
these gadgets had been invented,” he said.
It is a far cry from his 313-day nonstop voyage around the world
in the old-fashioned 32ft ketch Suhaili in the 1968-69 Golden Globe
race. He navigated then using a sextant, a compass and the stars.
Last week Knox-Johnston, the only Briton left in
the race, achieved his fastest speed in his yacht, covering 310
miles in 24 hours. He is third in the final 3,200-mile sprint across
the Atlantic, but he needs to beat the fourth-placed yacht into
Bilbao by one day, 17 hours and 58 minutes to secure third place
overall.
|
HMS Vanguard fires a broadside. (©Imperial
War Museum FL20870)
Royal and Merchant Navy Days. RKJ
joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve whilst at school as a
Boy Seaman. These were the days of National Service for all males
in Britain and joining a particular reserve was the only way to
guarantee being called up into the service of your choice. Fifteen
days training followed aboard HMS Vanguard, Britain’s
last Battleship.
The following year he signed indentures with
the British India Company. Thereafter, he rose through the ranks
of both the merchant navy and the Royal Navy.
|
|
32ft ketch Suhaili in the 1968-69
Golden Globe race
Sir Robin has spent recent years as a Lieut
Commander, working mainly in NATO.
|
|
