Renowned British yachtsman Robin Davie has arrived safely in England after a roundabout voyage from Les Sables d’Olonne, France, to Falmouth that caused him to arrive four days later than expected.
Davie, 67, reached his home port on Jan. 12 aboard the Rustler 36 C’est La Vie. His failure to arrive on time, or check in with family or friends, had some thinking the worst, Golden Globe Race spokesman Barry Pickthall said.
British and French authorities began issuing an “All Ships Alert” after he failed to arrive home, but it yielded no sightings. That only deepened the mystery involving an experienced sailor who had completed three solo circumnavigations.
Rescue authorities finally made contact with Davie at about 2200 on Jan. 11. At the time, he was about 25 miles southwest of the Scilly Isles and expected to arrive home the following day.
“This is fantastic news,” Rick Davie, Robin’s brother, said in a statement. “I am so grateful for all the help and publicity provided by the Coastguard services and the media for publicizing this.”
Davie originally expected to complete the 300-mile crossing in about three days. But, according to Pickthall, the sailor encountered “very light headwinds.” Rather than zigzag upwind, he “decided to take one long tack out into the Atlantic, well out of radio range and the main shipping routes.”
Davie arrived in France in early 2018 expecting to compete in the Golden Globe Race, a solo around-the-world contest still underway. Although he ran out of time to get prepared for the grueling voyage, race organizers say he plans to compete in the next running in 2022.