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March 2008 - Cruise on Gypsy Moth IV
Sailing Gypsy Moth IV by Derek Gardner
2008 Log of our Gipsy Moth IV Experience!!!!
Fastest Voyage around the word by any small vessel
Longest passage made by a small vessel without port of call for 15,500 miles
More than twice the distance of the previous longest passage by a singlehander – 15,500 miles
Twice broke the record for a singlehander`s weeks run by more than 100 miles
Set a singlehanded record by covering 1,400 miles from point to point in 8 days
Twice exceeded the singlehanded speed record for a long passage, more than 130 miles per day for 226 days
Third TRUE circumnavigation by a small vessel via Cape Horn
At the age of (nearly) 65 years old, and having overcome cancer, in 1966 Francis Chichester set off in Gipsy Moth IV and arrived back in Plymouth after sailing for 226 days and nights.
He said that GM IV “was cantankerous” and “ needed an elephant to move the tiller”, “ needed a 3`6” chimpanzee with 8ft long arms to get about below and work the gear”, etc. His final comment was that “What GM IV needs is a gallon of paraffin and a box of matches”!! For those that have read his book “Gipsy Moth Circles the World” you will appreciate some of the hardships and problems he battled against during his long lonely voyage.
GM IV was laid up for 37 years in dry dock, until a campaign was launched in 2003 to save the rotting boat from total destruction. Since this very expensive refit she has again completed a second circumnavigation, but this time with underprivileged youngsters with various professional skippers. This is another interesting story that is well summarised in the book “A Legend Sails Again”
Mike Turner and I passed our 60th year and a present from our families gave us the opportunity to sail on GM IV for a weekend in March this year.
The forecast on our way to Cowes to meet up with the boat was SW 8 and outlook for Saturday SW 8 increasing 9. We imagined the trip would be cancelled, but no chance.
On Saturday morning with our skipper, Lars, we manoeuvred the 16 ton, 54 feet long, 10 ft beam and over 7ft draft, graceful lady out from her berth at the UKSA. With a healthy breeze we hoisted staysail and mizzen as it was too windy for any more sail, and set out into the Solent. Just to be there on board and experience the motion, the feel and the smell of such an amazing piece of history was magical. She was everything that Sir Francis said she was, and that was with our full crew of six! She rolled alternately her Port and Starboard gunwhales into the water and kept this up unceasingly with water pouring along the side decks. No spay hood on this baby! We made a Westerly course up the Solent hard on the wind, and then turned for Portsmouth now a beam reach. This called for the mainsail! Reefing was fun as the main was rolled around the boom using the entire original reefing gear. How the great man managed this alone I will never know. We six struggled and we only had about 30 to 35 knots of wind. He often experienced more wind and heavier seas that we had! Our speed picked up to a maximum of 9.5 knots as we surfed and rolled continuously, our way down to Portsmouth. Boy was it a wet boat! Even with our modern oilies, boots, hats etc. it was impossible to keep dry. This was a mixture of heavy rain and lots of salt water! I wonder how the original skipper managed some 42 years earlier. What a hero?
We all took turns to helm. One hour was sufficient for each trick, even for the strongest of us! She was an absolute PIG and required a strong pair of arms to hold her on course. The tiller was about 1.50 m long and even with this leverage she took some controlling. I can see now why Sir Francis made the comment about needing an elephant to steer! Also consider this was AFTER the rudder had been modified by Chichester in South Africa and again during her re-fit where the application of modern science had investigated and modified her rudder for the second time. Alas, to no avail! It was all part of the GM IV experience!
We took a lunch break and made “Cuppa Soups”. Well, eventually anyhow, after we managed to light the famous cooker that Sir Francis referred to frequently in his book. Mike became the expert at this. It was akin to an old fashioned blowlamp. Methylated spirits had to be poured down a tiny tube and then lit. When you thought it was hot enough the paraffin pump was started. Flames leaped in the air and we had visions of the precious GM IV being cindered there and then. Thankfully the paraffin vaporised, caught light and the kettle was boiled and part of the countries heritage was saved. We know that when at sea the cooker was impossible to use and Chichester survived without hot food or drinks for weeks when it could not be used due to too rough weather conditions. It was difficult enough for us at anchor!
The wind picked up again, and because we were modern day wimps we voted for the comfort of a marina berth and drying rooms for our clothes and ourselves for the night. We sailed back to Cowes now hard on the wind again, and yes, the F 9 did arrive as we thrashed (literally) our way back! We were bashed and rocked and soaked when we arrived in after an amazing day sail. What about tomorrow we considered, but the forecast was better much to our relief.
Very wet outside we felt we needed to complete the experience by getting a little wet on the inside also! A hearty meal ashore, then we spent the evening in the snug saloon of this famous lady. Unfortunately the Whitbread beer pump and gimballed chair had not been replaced after the refit (Sir Francis had a keg of Whitbread beer on tap to help him on his voyage) so we had to make do with Scotch. It was a very poignant and surreal evening just to sit in the cramped, damp smelly (our clothes were hanging all over) atmosphere and to look at exactly same instruments that HE navigated his way around the world with. (It is true that modern GPS etc. are hidden away under a lift up panel that houses the now old redundant, non functional original instruments) It was magic. One of the other crew read some passages from one of his books and it made your spine shiver. To think that we were privileged to be there is HIS boat recounting his tales of knockdowns in the Southern Ocean, rounding Cape Horn in a storm and how he got really annoyed that a Navy vessel was there to “escort” him round, when all he wanted was to be on his own. There are so many details in the book, read them if this whets your taste buds at all? A few drams later, so to bed. We slept in the main saloon. Getting in was fine, getting out was a real problem after a days sail when the bodily stiffness sets in! The pipe cots were so narrow there was no chance of even turning over during the night. It was just like sleeping in a sling! (or a casket as some sailors had referred to them!) A call of nature in the night proved almost an impossibility!
We were not altogether certain that there was not a ghost of Sir Francis on board as strange woody type creaking noises were heard as she “talked” to us during the dark hours! Maybe it was just the Scotch? We will never know!
Morning came and the sun was shining. Today was to be so different! We managed to set all sail and had fun downwind sailing with the VERY large cruising chute. We felt so honoured to feel the admiring looks and pointing and photographing and to have the boat being admired by so many people on other boats. Well she is probably one boat that most people have heard something about. We cut a fine picture as we gracefully sailed up the Solent and even felt the warmth of the Spring sun on our backs.
She still constantly needs a lot of TLC and money to be spent on her to keep her in this condition and it is thought that she may become a non sailing floating museum piece eventually in a new maritime museum that is in the planning, which would preserve her for many more years to come.
We felt very honoured to have had this weekends sailing and living on board this piece of our marine heritage. We loved the experience and will be able to recount these and many more memories of the weekend for many years to come.
A BIG thank you to our families for making this trip possible.
Derek Gardner
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