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Gipsy Moth IV
| Gipsy Moth IV is a key part of Britain's national maritime heritage, and represents a significant milestone in the history of world sailing. Although Sir Francis was not the first person to sail singlehanded around the world, those that went before him treated their voyages as extended cruises; in contrast Sir Francis' 'wonderful adventure' was more of a mericless test of personal endurance and boat speed. |
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| The objective for Gipsy Moth IV was to beat the times set by the Victorian clipper ships for their yourney to Australia - Sir Francis' goal was to be there in 100 days. To put this in context the maximum speed of a yacht is directly related to its wetted length, Gipsy Moth IV is only 53 feet overall, whereas a clipper ship such as the Cutty Sark was 212 feet. In addition Sir Francis was on his own and would often have to set in excess of 1,500 square feet of sails to keep the yacht making good speed. |
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Sir Francis had Gipsy Moth IV designed specifically for the challenge by John Illingworth and Angus Primrose. She was built by Camper & Nicholsons at Gosport and launched in March 1966. She is 38ft 6in (11.8m) on the waterline and 53ft (16m) overall and of cold-moulded Honduras mahogany construction. Ketch rigged, she has a sail area of 854sq ft (79.4sq m).
Gipsy Moth IV entered Sydney iafter 107 days, an amazing achievement. By the end of the voyage Sir Francis had established a number of records:
- Fastest voyage around the world by any small vessel
- Longest non stop passage that had been made by a small sailing vessel (15,000 miles)
- More than twice the distance of the previous longest passage by a singlehander
- Twice broke the record for a singlehander's weeks run by more than 100 miles
- Established a record for singlehanded speed by sailing 1,400 miles in 8 days
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| On May 28th 1967 when Gipsy Moth IV returned to Plymouth, there were more than 250,000 people there to witness this historic event, and millions more watching on television. Aside from his technical achievemnts Sir Franics achieved something much more personal - and personal not alone to him. With a courage and self-discipline that defy description he dove himself to the limits of human enduarance, and in doing so he had succeeded in making dreams come true. His efforts inspired a generation to break out and realise their dreams. |
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| She was never sailed again after returning home but took up her concrete dry dock in Greenwich next to The Cutty Sark, only to leave it briefly for some restorative work in 1997. After nearly 40 years in dry dock, the ravages of fresh water ingress and a lack of funds to look after this iconic yacht, had left her in a sad state of repair. |
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| After a campaign by Yachting Monthly called 'Stop the Rot', UKSA stepped forward to lead the restoration of this classic yacht. After 5 months of incredible effort, Gipsy Moth IV was once again re-launched at the Camper and Nicholson yard in Gosport on the 20th June 2005. After this great event she spent the summer as the guest of honour at a host of events before embarking of a second much different circumnavigation. |
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