News that Yachting Monthly, the UK Sailing Academy and the Maritime Trust have banded together to save Gipsy Moth IV from rotting away is bringing in many calls and emails.

One of the first came from former London typist Hilary Halter, who worked for Sir Francis Chichester: ‘To hear that Gipsy Moth IV is to be restored is very nostalgic for me.’ ‘I typed the original wording for his autobiography, working from his audio tapes. The 330,000 words I typed on my old Underwood typewriter were edited down to a mere 250,000. When GMIV “Circled the World” the log were given to me and I typed back the entries from his handwriting, water splashes and all. Lady Chichester and Giles collected the first half when they met Sir Francis in Australia after the first leg and these I typed back before he got back to England.

‘I then had the task of replying to all the fan mail when the book eventually appeared. Sir Francis joked that I would be able to design the next yacht. He was very kind to me. I was invited with my daughter, then aged six, to Lord Dulverton’s enclosure by the Tower of London to witness the return up the Thames. I also attended his funeral service at Westminster Abbey with my family. Great memories! I look forward to hearing that the work has been successfully completed.