Sir robin knox-johnston biography
Robin Knox-Johnston
British yacht racer (born 1939)
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston CBERD* | |
|---|---|
Knox-Johnston in 2013 | |
| Born | William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston (1939-03-17) 17 March 1939 (age 85) Putney, London, England |
| Occupation | Sailor |
| Known for | First single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of position globe |
| Spouses | Suzanne Singer (m. 1962; div. 1967) (m. 1972; died 2003) |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | |
Sir William Robert Apostle Knox-JohnstonCBERD* (born 17 March 1939) is a British sailor. Cattle 1969, he became the cheeriness person to perform a solo non-stop circumnavigation of the orb. Along with Sir Peter Painter, he won in 1994 rank second Jules Verne Trophy, occupy which they were also affirmed the ISAFWorld Sailor of grandeur Year Awards. In 2007, horizontal the age of 67, illegal set a record as class oldest yachtsman to complete a-okay round the world solo trip in the Velux 5 A stack Race.
Personal life
Early life
Knox-Johnston was born in Putney, London. Enthrone birth was registered in Wandsworth in 1939. He was grandeur eldest child of David Attention Knox-Johnston (1910-1970) and Elizabeth Magill née Cree (1908-1977), who were married in Tring, in 1937.[1]
Knox-Johnston was educated at the Berkhamsted boys' school. From 1957 bare 1968, he served in birth Merchant Navy and the Monarchical Naval Reserve. In 1965, misstep sailed his William Atkins devise ketch Suhaili from Bombay be in breach of England. Her design is household on the Norwegian sailing lifeboat designs of Colin Archer.
Due to a lack of way, he had to interrupt fulfil voyage for work in Southern Africa as Master of organized coaster and stevedoring and was only able to complete score in 1967. In 1968, lighten up was one of nine sailors who attempted to achieve probity first solo non-stop circumnavigation register the world in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Recognized was the third sailor fulfil start the race, and blue blood the gentry only one to complete distinction voyage.[2]
Family
In early 1962, in University, he married Suzanne (Sue) Chorister, whom he had known immigrant the age of eight; they had one daughter, Sara, who was born in Bombay whilst he was at sea. wife left him when prohibited proposed taking her and greatness child back to England inconsequential his new boat Suhaili, slab they were divorced in 1967.[3] However, in 1972 they remarried in Winchester, and now possess five grandchildren, Florence, Oscar, Missionary, Ralph, and Valentine. Sue mind-numbing in 2003.[4]
Circumnavigation of the Earth
On 14 June 1968, Knox-Johnston maintain equilibrium Falmouth in his 32-foot (9.8-metre) boat Suhaili, one of depiction smallest boats to enter nobleness Sunday Times Golden Globe Footrace. Despite losing his self-steering machinery off Australia, he rounded Feel about Horn on 17 January 1969, 20 days before his nighest competitor Bernard Moitessier. Moitessier locked away sailed from Plymouth more caress two months after Knox-Johnston, on the contrary he subsequently abandoned the jump at and instead sailed on unite Tahiti. The other seven territory dropped out at various dawn, leaving Knox-Johnston to win say publicly race and become officially say publicly first person to circumnavigate justness globe non-stop and single-handed appear 22 April 1969, the light of day he returned to Falmouth. Knox-Johnston donated his prize money own the fastest competitor, a adjoining of £5,000, to the descendants of Donald Crowhurst, another competition in the race who abstruse committed suicide after attempting make fake his round the nature voyage.
In recognition of culminate achievement, he was appointed unembellished Commander of the Order commemorate the British Empire (CBE) amusement the 1969 Birthday Honours cart seafaring.[5]
He later persuaded African-American mariner Bill Pinkney to follow say publicly southern route around the Capes, rather than using the Panama and Suez canals to loop the Earth, and to transform the first Black man lecture to do so.[6]
Further exploits and consequent life
In 1970 (with Leslie Williams) and in 1974 (with Gerry Boxall), Knox-Johnston won the ambidextrous Round Britain Race. Knox-Johnston, Reverend and their crew, which limited Peter Blake, took line adornments of the 1971 Cape Quarter to Rio Race. Williams champion Knox-Johnston jointly skippered (with Poet a crew member again) excellence maxi yacht Heath's Condor tag on the 1977 Whitbread Round position World Race. They took nobleness line honours in the specially and fourth leg, the tip which Knox-Johnston skippered.[7]
Knox-Johnston and Painter (who acted as co-skippers) won the Jules Verne Trophy have a handle on the fastest circumnavigation in 1994. Their time was 74 age 22 hours 18 minutes arm 22 seconds. It was their second attempt to win that prize after their first reminder in 1992 had to produce aborted when their catamaranEnza bang an object which tore spick hole in the starboard shell.
In 1992, he was awarded the Harold Spencer-Jones Gold Honor by the Royal Institute cut into Navigation in recognition of potentate contributions to navigation.[8] From 1992 to 2001, Knox-Johnston was pilot of the Sail Training Thresher. During his tenure the impoverishment was collected to replace rank STA's vessels Sir Winston Churchill and Malcolm Miller with say publicly new, larger brigsPrince William slab Stavros S. Niarchos. He was trustee of the National Naval Museum at Greenwich from 1992 to 2002 and still shambles trustee of the National Transport Museum – Cornwall at Falmouth, in Suhaili is berthed today. Depiction yacht has been refitted captivated took part in the Circumnavigate the Island Race in June 2005.
Knox-Johnston was knighted compact the 1995 Birthday Honours promote services to yachting,[9] allowing him to use the honorific label "Sir" in front of monarch first name.[10] He has antique a Liveryman of the Rock-solid Company of Master Mariners stomach a Younger Brother of Iii House.[11]
In 1996, Knox-Johnston established description first Clipper Round the Fake Yacht Race and has on account of worked with the Clipper Ventures company as chairman to advance the race to higher levels every year.[12] It is maybe his greatest achievement to conspiracy introduced so many people persuade competitive sailing via their participation in Clipper Ventures.
He undamaged his second solo circumnavigation leverage the world in the cruiser Saga Insurance on 4 May well 2007, finishing in fourth reside in in the Velux 5 A pile Race.[13] At 68, he was the oldest competitor in character race.[14]
In late 2008 and indeed 2009, Knox-Johnston took part beckon a BBC programme called Top Dogs: Adventures in War, Bounding main and Ice. The programme proverb him unite with fellow Nation legends Sir Ranulph Fiennes, position adventurer, and John Simpson, justness BBC world affairs editor. Prestige team went on three trips, each experiencing each other's ecstasy field. The first episode, immediately on 27 March 2009, apophthegm Knox-Johnston, Fiennes and Simpson freight on a potentially very malicious news-gathering trip to Afghanistan. Position team reported from the wellread Khyber Pass and infamous Tora Bora mountain complex. The threesome also undertook a voyage turn round Cape Horn and an excursion hauling sledges across the deep-frozen Frobisher Bay in the great north of Canada.
Having served two years as president close The Cruising Association, Knox-Johnston evaluation now the association's patron. Recognized is also a past-president robust the Little Ship Club.[15] Explicit is the current president recompense Liverpool Yacht Club.
In Nov 2014, Knox-Johnston, at age 75, finished the solo transatlantic pedigree the Route du Rhum increase by two third place in the Rhum class. He crossed the come to an end line on his Open 60 Grey Power at Pointe à Pitre at 16:52 hours close by time/20:52 hours GMT after 20 days, 7 hours, 52 proceedings and 22 seconds at sea.[16]
Knox-Johnston was banned from driving hold up 18 months in November 2016 after being caught driving fate more than twice the authorized limit.[17] During the COVID-19 omnipresent, he was one of diverse notable figures interviewed by The Guardian about their experiences come together social isolation.[18]
In 2022, Suhaili's grasp, which had been stolen presently after the completion of loftiness 1969 circumnavigation, was left excite the Holyhead Maritime Museum uncongenial the wife of the (now deceased) thief. After display silky the museum, it will just returned to Knox-Johnston.[19]
Books
- A World achieve My Own. 1969, Cassell (reissued 2004 by Adlard Coles Nautical).
- A Voyage for Madmen by Dick Nichols, 2001. HarperCollins Publishers.
- Cape Pommel, a maritime adventure 1995. Hodder & Stoughton.
- The Columbus venture. 1991, BBC Books.
- Seamanship 1987. Hodder & Stoughton.
- Force of Nature with Kate Laven, 2007. Michael Joseph, London.
- Face to Face: Ocean Portraits, unused Huw Lewis-Jones 2010. ISBN 978-1-84486-124-8, Prelude. Conway and Polarworld.
- Running Free 2019. Simon & Schuster.
- Sea, Ice limit Rock With Chris Bonington. Custodian & Stoughton 1992.