40th anniversary of Chay Blyth’s voyage

This coming Monday, 18 October, will be the 40th anniversary of Sir Chay Blyth’s non-stop solo upwind circumnavigation. Blyth sailed against the prevailing winds and currents aboard his 59ft ketch British Steel. Blyth began his voyage from Southampton, England, on October 18, 1970. Some 292 days later he returned to a hero’s welcome. When British Steel lost its self-steering gear off Cape Horn, he had to steer by hand for more than 20,000 miles. On his return, newspaper headlinestrumpeted: “Boat of Steel – Man of Iron” and The Times of London described the voyage as “The most outstanding passage ever made by one man alone.”