[pct-l] Abby Sunderland/non-stop

[Ken Murray]

Non-stop literally means without entering any harbor, or connecting up with another boat or person, with no supply support of any kind (except, in older times, mail).

The first person to do this was Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in 1968.  He bought "Suhaili", a 32 foot ketch, in India.  It was delapidated, but he restored it for the purpose of sailing it back to England, his home, which he did.  He was a professional seaman. He decided to enter the race to sail around the world non-stop, single-handed.  From his website:

"Progress was slow initially as RKJ was recovering from an attack of jaundice. By the time she passed the Cape of Good Hope she was in the lead, but had already been knocked down, her coach roof shifted, her water tanks polluted and her radio out of action. 

For the next 8 ½ months the only contact was when sighted from the shore or by a solitary ship. There was no means of communication and no way to tell anyone if the boat got into trouble, as with beacons or EPIRB’s in those pre-satellite days. The loss of the radio also gave a navigational problem as it was no longer possible to obtain time checks, and accurate time is essential when using a sextant to calculate position, which was all that was available then. Weather forecasts too were now unobtainable, reliance being placed on a barometer removed from a public house, the clouds and the wind direction, but this did not help to warn of deeper storms as they approached. 
More storms followed as Suhaili made her way through the Southern Ocean, sails were torn, the main gooseneck broke and off Australia her self steering finally gave up the ghost. From then on the boat had to be balanced or hand steered. 

After 147 days at sea she approached the pilot vessel off Melbourne to announce that she was still racing and drop off mail. A brief call off Dunedin, and grounding for 5 hours, and the she continued towards Cape Horn. 

It was during a storm which reached Force 12(>73 mph), and after another knockdown, that the efficiency of warps being towed behind the boat was discovered and she rode the largest of waves thereafter in comparative safety. 

The waves in the Southern Ocean are the largest to be found anywhere in the world. In theory they can reach more than 30 metres in height, but the largest seen during the voyage was, perhaps, 25 metres high, but it had built up into a wall, breaking at the crest. RKJ was on deck as it suddenly reared up half a mile astern, and by the time its true proportions were clear it was too late to seek shelter below. He climbed the rigging and hung on as the stern reared up and the wave crashed over the boat. For what seemed an eternity there was nothing in sight but two masts and boiling water and then Suhaili shook herself and re-appeared. Without the warps she would have broached and been viciously rolled and possibly foundered.

Suhaili was now on the home straight with just a ¼ of the circumnavigation left to complete, but an attack of appendicitis as she crossed the Equator nearly finished the voyage.  On Saturday the 5th April 1969 she called a British Tanker with a signal lamp, the “Mobil Acme” and reported her position off the Azores, the first news for more than 4 ½ months. She sailed into Falmouth Harbour on 22nd April 1969 to be greeted by the Customs Officials with the traditional demand of “Where from” The single word answer was “Falmouth” She arrived, battered, after 312 days at sea, having become the first boat to ever be sailed non-stop around the world and single handed, and, up to then, the lengthiest voyage ever made." 

His book "A World of my Own", is can't-put-down reading.
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Another hallmark:  My aquaintance Yoh Aoki, who did a solo circumnavigation in a 21-foot boat that he built in his backyard himself, although with stops.  It took him 3 years, 2 months.  He was 22 years old.  When asked, Yoh strongly recommends against a similar voyage, as he believes it too dangerous.  He thought he was going to die when a 100 foot wave turned his boat upside down, and began to sink.  What saved him was when another wave, ten minutes later, turned him back over.  Close call.