Rudyard Kipling famously wrote that the complete person can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same. Most books of the sea end with some sort of triumph, be it a gentle circumnavigation or a race well won. Andrew Halcrow’s Into the Southern Ocean is cut from a different cloth. Having already sailed around the world through the tropics in his engineless, self-built yacht Elsi Arrub, he felt the need for harsher challenges and set out in 2006 to cross the Southern Ocean singlehanded, navigating entirely by sextant.
Having been foiled by a medical emergency, he vowed to do it again, from east to west against the prevailing wind. In 2013, a dismasting cut short this effort, but the book this Shetland islander wrote about his great voyage is stirring stuff. In this extract, he has just weathered the Horn, but is now faced with the certainty of a dangerously extreme storm. He has to decide whether to run for shelter or ‘ride it out’. The choice is far from simple and the description of his seamanlike decision-making is exemplary..
The good sailor weathers the storm he cannot avoid and avoids the storm he cannot weather,” (anonymous).
Elsi and I had rounded the Horn but the weather chart showed winds up to Force 9 which, by the way the forecasts had been going, could easily be Force 11. I had to try and make the most of the present fair wind to get offshore as far as I could and get some sea-room before it hit us. I really didn’t fancy being off the Horn in a Force 11 but there was a chance it might ease back a bit as it moved east. Even if it went down a little, I was sure we could cope with that.
Denne historien er fra November 2021-utgaven av Yachting World.
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Denne historien er fra November 2021-utgaven av Yachting World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
NIKKI HENDERSON
WHERE DO YOU FIND HANDY BILLY WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
MATTHEW SHEAHAN
IS OLYMPIC SAILING ACTUALLY HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS A SHOWCASE OF THE SPORT FOR BOTH COMPETITORS AND SPECTATORS?
Building fleet for Baltic Sea Race
The second edition of the Roschier Baltic Sea Race, a 635-mile race out of Helsinki, Norway, saw varied conditions and a new benchmark course time set.
New cruising charter 'Odyssey'
Charter company Dream Yacht has launched a new round the world supported cruising programme for yacht owners which draws on the company's extensive network of charter bases.
Mixed fortunes at Marseille
The Paris 2024 sailing regatta saw mixed fortunes for many favourites - some confirming their dominance, others crashing out as variable winds played havoc.
The yacht Bayesian
Bayesian is one of Italian yard Perini Navi's 56m series, originally named Salute.
Seven dead in superyacht sinking
Seven people are dead following the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, a 56m/184ft British-flagged Perini Navi, off the coast of Sicily.
5 EXPERT TIPS HELENA DARVELID ON MULTIHULL CONTROL
Performance multihull racing is growing hugely in popularity. Helena Darvelid shares some key learnings with Andy Rice
PALMA'S FUN FACTOR
FUN ON AND OFF THE WATER IS AN UNBEATABLE COMBINATION AT THE SUPERYACHT CUP PALMA, WRITES PHIL RILEY
SWAN 88 DREAMCATCHER
GLOBAL LEADERS AT THE SEMI-CUSTOM END OF THE PRODUCTION SCENE, NAUTOR SWAN INVITED US FOR THE FIRST SEA TRIALS OF ITS BIG NEW 88
