Superheroes of cruising

The cruising sphere has some sailing superheroes, none of which are represented in the National Sailing Hall of Fame in the US.  Here are a few of my favourites.  

Lin and Larry Pardey

Larry died in 2020, but he and Lin spent a lifetime cruising the world on their two engineless boats that Larry built himself. Lin wrote books and magazine articles at a time when journalists still got paid reasonable wages. Larry did repair work on boats to keep afloat. They sailed more than 200,000 miles both east about and west about circumnavigating slowly so they could experience the world. https://pardeytime.blogspot.com/ 

Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger

Beth Leonard and her husband, Evans Starzinger, completed two circumnavigations and logged more than 110,000 nautical miles. Between 1992 and 1995, they sailed westabout by way of the Panama Canal, Torres Straits and the Cape of Good Hope, and from 1999 to 2009 they completed an eastabout circumnavigation by way of all of the Great Capes that took them as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as Cape Horn. Beth has written hundreds of articles for more than a dozen sailing magazines and is the author of three books: The Voyager’s Handbook, Following Seas and the award-winning Blue Horizons.  http://www.bethandevans.com/

Jon Sanders

Eleven-time circumnavigator, Australian Jon Sanders has spent more time at sea than anyone else, I'd venture to believe. His last swing around the planet was completed at the tender age of 81. He was the first person to circumnavigate the world twice solo continuously twice, and then did it again three times solo continuously. He's also circumnavigated with lots of stops.  http://www.jonsanders.com.au/  https://www.facebook.com/Jonsanders11/

Susanne Huber-Curphey

German skipper Susanne Huber-Curphey has cruised more than 265,000 miles and was the first woman to sail singlehanded through the Northwest Passage. She’s one remarkable sailor. As well as rescuing her husband when his yacht was sinking (they sailed tandem boats), she also sailed in the wake of Moitessier girdling the earth 1.5 times in his honour. She’s won numerous awards for her seamanship, including the Ocean Cruising Club’s Barton Cup and Seamanship Award and CCA's Blue Water Medal. To Huber-Curphey sailing is more than a pastime, it’s a way of life. I am privileged to call her my friend. 

Jeanne Socrates

British yachtswoman, Jeanne Socrates started sailing late in life and retired to sail the world with her husband. Early into the adventure, her husband passed away, and Jeanne was left alone on their boat. She found it was easier to learn to sail alone than with others, so she took up solo sailing. She has completed four solo circumnavigations. Jeanne's tenacity is amazing. As the oldest person to sail around the world solo, unassisted and non-stop by all the Capes, the Lymington sailor has many awards to her name. Some of her awards from her sailing exploits include The Ocean Cruising Club's Barton Cup, the Royal Cruising Club’s Seamanship Medal, and the Cruising Club of America’s Blue Water Medal. Cruisers can read about her travels at Svnereida.com.

Dustin Reynolds

Dustin Reynolds' goal is to be the first double-amputee to circumnavigate the earth and he's almost there. In the last six years, he has cruised over 25,000 miles, and he plans to finish his voyage in December 2021. Reynolds is writing a book about his journey, both across the oceans and through his life experiences, that he hopes will raise awareness of people with disabilities and inspire people to chase their dreams. Dustin was awarded the OCC Seamanship Award at the halfway point of his circumnavigation. https://www.facebook.com/saintdustin


John Kretschmer

John Kretschmer, a popular American sailor, philosopher, and writer has a unique philosophical viewpoint on offshore sailing: “…never lost just hard to find.” An accomplished ocean voyager, John has logged more than 300,000 offshore miles. He has made 26 Atlantic crossings and has weathered Atlantic hurricanes and Pacific cyclones. He and Tadji are planning a 5-year circumnavigation during which they will be doing sail training workshops on each offshore leg aboard his Kaufman 47 Quetzel. He has written 7 books and hundreds of articles that convey a sense of terror, joy and amazement found at sea. https://johnkretschmersailing.com/

Nick Skeates

Nick has been an almost permanent liveaboard since leaving the UK in 1975 aboard his first Wylo, a Morgan Giles-designed 28-footer, at the age of 28. Two years later, having sailed to New Zealand and back into the Pacific, he lost her on a reef near Fiji in poor visibility.

Since 1980 Nick has made four circumnavigations aboard Wylo II, covering more than a quarter of a million miles, and he has crossed the Atlantic more times than he can count. Wylo II is very simple but extremely strong – at least one sistership has sailed around Cape Horn– with an interior built mainly from recycled timber and a primus stove in the galley. Nick still prefers to navigate by sextant, though he admits to carrying a GPS in reserve. In these days of ever-larger cruising yachts with all the bells and whistles, Nick remains true to the philosophy which has served him well for nearly 50 years. Nick has been described as a ‘fantastic character full of soul, wisdom and experience’. He received the OCC Lifetime Cruising Award for 2020.

Trevor Robertson and Annie Hill

Australian-born Trevor Robertson is quietly one of the most extraordinary sailors of our times. Since the mid-'70s, he has sailed over 400,000 miles. In 1976, at the age of 27, he sailed from Western Australia to east Africa and then to the West Indies in a 34ft wooden sloop; he then worked in the charter business in the Caribbean and later on oil rigs to earn enough money to buy another boat.

Robertson is perhaps best known for his voyages in the 35ft steel gaff cutter Iron Bark, designed by Nick Skeates, which he built himself. He spent many years sailing with his English wife, the author Annie Hill, whose book Voyaging on a Small Income is an economic study of continual travel, living with minimum expenditure, and self-sufficiency. Annie and Trevor were featured in a 1-hour film Living Lightly on the Sea: Annie Hill and Trevor Robertson, which highlights the ecological benefit of the cruising lifestyle. 

Robertson and Hill have sailed both together and alone on separate adventures.  Annie has also posted pilotage data and sketch charts for some interesting high latitude cruising grounds on www.annie-hill.blogspot.com.

Trevor Robertson has undertaken many long single-handed voyages, including overwintering unsupported in the Antarctic (Iron Bark is still likely the only vessel to have done so). Together with Annie, they spent a winter frozen in the ice in Greenland at 72°N. In 2009, Robertson’s and Hill’s voyages were recognised by the Cruising Club of America, which awarded them jointly the Blue Water Medal, an honour reserved for the most daring and adventurous exploits under sail. Trevor also received the RCC Seamanship Medal. 

In October 2018, with his 70th birthday looming, he sailed from Ireland for the West Indies to sell Iron Bark and look for her replacement. He found an Alajuela 38 in Florida which he sailed to the Caribbean for a refit. http://iron-bark.blogspot.com/p/iron-barks-travels.html

Annie is now based in New Zealand, where she lives aboard a 26-foot (8 m) fibreglass boat, Fantail, which she converted to a junk rig. 

David Scott Cowper

British sailor David Scott Cowper tackled the world’s most difficult sea routes while completing six circumnavigations. David Scott Cowper was the first man to sail around the world in both directions, which he followed by a solo circumnavigation under power. Both of these challenges pale in comparison to what he faced in his solo circumnavigation via the Northwest Passage. Elected Yachtsman of the year in 1990, he spends his time on land as a chartered surveyor in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. His last circumnavigation took place via the Hecla and Fury Straits, in which he, accompanied by his son aboard the specially designed aluminium motorboat Polar Bound, became the first to navigate this passage since its discovery in 1822. This was his third circumnavigation in Polar Bound. He was the first recipient of the OCC Lifetime Sailing Award. 

More to be added...