Photo: Gipsy Moth is snapped mid-ocean by a passing RAF Nimrod
Crown Copyright.

GMIV passed the midway point en route for Antigua in the Caribbean at the weekend…. covering the ground at over 7 knots with an ETA of 11 December. The boat’s best day’s run so far has been 180 miles “which is pretty good going for this old girl” said James Jermain, the mate, and YM’s chief boat tester.

The 24-hour run is also close to Chichester’s best of 189 miles in the Southern Ocean – then a record for a singlehanded sailor, said James, now fully recovered from a painful blood blister on his left knee.

James added: “I must admit to having entertained some seriously unkind thoughts about Gipsy Moth during this trip but, with the wind over the quarter and all sail set from mizzen through mizzen staysail and main to cruising chute, she goes pretty well. We have had eight knots on the clock regularly and averaged 7 knots for several hours.”