Francis chichester surprised his friends several times before sailing around the world alone. He tried to fly around the world, but failed. That's 193 1 year.
Many years have passed. He gave up flying and started sailing. He enjoys great pleasure in sailing. Chichester was 58 years old when he won the first solo transatlantic sailing race. His old dream of traveling around the world has revived, but this time he will sail around the world. As he has lung cancer, friends and doctors think that he shouldn't go, but chichester is determined to carry out his plan. 1August, 966, when he was nearly sixty-five, many people had already retired at this age, and he started the greatest voyage in his life. Soon, he went to sea with a new ship, Gypsy Moss, which was 16 meters long.
Chichester sailed along the route of19th century large three-masted sailboat. However, this three-masted sailboat had a large crew, but chichester sailed alone, even after the main steering gear was damaged by strong winds. Chichester has been sailing 14 100.
Miles, arrived in Sydney Harbour, Australia, and stopped to dock. This voyage is more than twice as long as the longest solo voyage in the past. He arrived in Australia in 65438+February 65438+February, which was the first day 107 when he left England. He was warmly welcomed by the Australians who flew to meet him and his family. After chichester went ashore, he had to be helped to walk. Everyone agrees that he has sailed far enough, so he should not sail any more. But he turned a deaf ear. After resting in Sydney for several weeks, he ignored his friends' suggestions. Set sail again. The second half of the voyage was even more difficult, during which he bypassed the dangerous Cape Horn. He left Australia on129 October. The next night was the darkest night he had ever experienced. The sea was rough and the boat was almost overturned by the wind and waves. Food, clothes and broken glass are all mixed up. Fortunately, the damage to the ship is not too serious. Chichester calmly got into bed and fell asleep.
When he woke up, the sea was calm again. However, he still can't help thinking that if anything happens, the nearest person he can contact by radio will be on an island 885 miles away, unless there is a boat nearby. After successfully bypassing Cape Horn, chichester sent the following message to London by radio:
"I feel like I just woke up from a nightmare. Even a wild horse will never drag me back to Cape Horn and the unpredictable Southern Ocean. " On Sunday, May 28th, 1967, I returned to England at 9 pm. There are 250,000 people waiting to welcome him there. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him with a sword. Nearly 400 years ago, Elizabeth I also held the same sword, and awarded this title to Sir Francis Drake, who completed his first round-the-world voyage. The whole voyage from England to England is 28,500 miles. Chichester * * * took nine months, of which the actual sailing time was 226 days. He finally accomplished what he wanted to accomplish. Like many other adventurers, chichester experienced fear and overcame it. In this process, he undoubtedly knows something about himself. In addition, in today's era when human beings are so dependent on machines, he has given people all over the world a new sense of pride.