Sir Robin Knox-Johnston arrived back in Gosport, Portsmouth, having
completed his first solo passage in over 15 years. Sailing aboard his new
Open 60 yacht, Grey Power, Sir Robin sailed over 2,000 nautical miles
alone from Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada) to Falmouth (UK), crossing the
North Atlantic Ocean in just 14 days.
 
Having completed this compulsory qualifying passage, Sir Robin is now
eligible for the Velux 5 Oceans, the oldest solo round the world yacht
race, which starts in Bilbao this October. Having taken delivery of his
Finot-designed Open 60 only two months ago, Sir Robin and his team now
begin last-minute preparations in the build up to the race start, which
will include giving Grey Power a complete refit following sail and boat
testing during this passage.
 
Speaking from the dockside as he stepped ashore, Sir Robin commented, “I
am delighted to have completed my qualifying trip for the Velux 5 Oceans,
it’s good to get it out the way, get home and focus on getting the boat in
shape for the race. I settled back into sailing alone very easily, helped
by the fact that Grey Power is a fabulous boat, very rewarding and lovely
to sail. I didn’t want to push the boat too hard and break anything as
some of the equipment is quite tired now, but even without overdoing it I
spent much of the time averaging 10 knots!”
 
“It was quite a straightforward crossing in all, the toughest parts were
at the start and at the end, with two days of fog off the coast of Canada
which slowed me up and then the busy waters and stiffer breezes as I
approached the UK. I’ve only had 40 minutes sleep in the last two and a
half days, but I feel I have adapted really well and handled the sleep
deprivation just like in the old days.”

For the silver jubilee year of the Velux 5 Oceans, Sir Robin is hoping to
complete the 30,000 mile course in around 112 days taking 200 days off his
1969 record.

For more information:
 
www.robinknox-johnston.co.uk 
www.velux5oceans.com