Sir Robin Knox-Johnston: Sailing Legend | Full Documentary

this really must be a tremendous moment for a man who is obviously loving every second of today's sale any second now the Blackrock beacon stretching out across the water from 10th at his point will come interview just on the left of your picture and the cannon is gone the cannon has gone the Hooters the horns miss alert day 312 about 25 past 3:00 on April the 22nd and Robert Knox Johnson and Sue Haley have sailed non-stop around the world Sir Robert Noyce Johnson is probably the most determined most stubborn most interesting person I've ever met my entire life to Mesa Robonaut Johnson is an iconic figure and one of the greatest sailors to have ever set foot in a boat the thing that made robin stand out so much at the time was that he wasn't well known he wasn't famous heat it was an ordinary chap who'd built his own boat and done something that nobody on earth had ever done before through sheer guts and drive and determination he created that first non-stop Searle around the world that nobody thought was possible hadn't been done until he completed it and he's laid that pathway for all of us to follow [Music] on the 22nd of April 1969 Robin Knox Johnston an officer in the British Merchant Navy completed an incredible feat becoming the first person in history to sail around the world non-stop and alone he began his adventure in July 1968 departing from Falmouth in southwest England returning there after 312 days of solitude he was a changed man both physically and mentally and he had sailed into the history books by completing a feat that at the time most people thought was simply impossible and it not only changed his life completely but enabled him to go on and create a legacy that has changed the lives of thousands of people around the world Robin was born in South West London just six months before the second world war broke out his father was then posted to Liverpool where Robins early years were spent we're living up on the world during the war so was looking down on the d particulars who got towards details and a lot of activity prep people practicing for the landings and the beaches that's something and so I got very interested called small boy which expect five years old and all these chaps coming down with large bits of machinery it's wildly exciting and the boats and everything else so by the age of eight I'd basically decided I was going to see Robin quit school while taking his final exams so he could follow his dream of going to see joining as an apprentice in the British Merchant Navy there he learnt to sail and enjoyed a successful career but in his late 20s found inspiration through a British yachtsman Francis Chichester he followed his story as a Chester sailed around the world on his own in 1967 he stopped just once in Australia during his circumnavigation and so set a new record in this time of adventure and exploration [Music] BBC correspondent and longtime friend of Robin recalls chit Chester's achievement I lived in in Greenwich at that time I'd just started working for the BBC joined the BBC in 1966 and sopran sister Chester came of course to Greenwich in his in his boat and the Queen met in there knighted him there Francis Chichester was an established character he was a famous sailor Robin was a young man most of us never heard of him or any of the other people that went on that round-the-world race in 1969 and Robin lifted himself out of the the mass by simple his simple daring and ability and guts and drive Robins life in the Merchant Navy saw him travel the world--to away from home for many months at a time I went to India when I was soon apprentice my last year join one of the company ships going out east came home to my second mates certificate and you had a choice I could sell hem line ships running from the UK out to Africa in India or I could go nice and service which was ship space out east we built in Britain but never came home and I decided I'd go on Eastern service because the pay was better the joined Walker in Karachi and went on the Gulf run where I spent the next four years came from Bombay to bouncing back and calling it all the ports in between his childhood sweetheart Sue was patient and was always in his mind on long journeys Drock kill and you know when she got about 17 I was 19 I should looking at 1 so my interest in her changed and the Tom boyfriend has more romantic and we got married to about freezers went out to India Sarah yes she was 20 I was 22 their daughter Sarah was born while they were living in India but due to his career in the Navy she was often left alone looking after their baby for long periods however India also proved to be the birthplace of an idea one that would soon affect all their lives [Music] his now-famous yacht called su hailey was built in Bombay using a design based on a Norwegian lifeboat it's a Bermudan ketch with two masts and is just 32 feet in length two of his fellow officers joined in his plan to build her but pulled out after problems and delays [Music] the three of us talk about what name to use and Sue Haley came to us because the star called Suhail but Sue Haley also has a number of meanings that can mean girlfriend or best friend in urdu and my wife's name was Sue so it seemed to me quite as tactful to choose the name of Sunaina me financially it was a bit tricky because the other two decided that was enough they wanted to go out to Australia New Zealand and marry the girlfriends I didn't want to give up and so I basically bought them out and we were living on next to nothing at the time and we were doing on porridge for breakfast bananas for lunch one of sixes of the Kai for dinner said got very slim the we're losing weight with finances stretched a young child and his ever evolving plan to sell sue Haley back to Britain with his family it proved a difficult time for their relationship and eventually they drifted apart which is worried because yeah there was a lot disease and SAR was premature my family's premature so as soon was terrified if she got ill she'd lose everything so I mean she fed her up to a point she look like Buddha but she was always worried about her so she wasn't at all keen on me on the boat by this time I was committed financially to the boat I couldn't get out of it so that created the frictions which and then she ended the splitting up we never fought over sorrow that was always it was very civilized with each other in that sailor bookmark came home took my Mouse's ticket went in the Navy to five months went back out with my brother and a friend finished the boat off and we sailed for England and the Kate got to Devon with mister seasonally around the Cape we'd run out of money anyway so next three months I was captain of a ship going up down the South African coast which was great fun and enough money to buy some tins and we decided we gave Cape Town to London stop you never to come along enough we want to get home so we did took a seventy seven days but actually was extremely useful experience Frances chit Chester's achievement in 1967 had stayed with Robin and it ignited a burning desire I sought you just to come home and for he's gone around the world single-handed we once stopped he's one thing to be done and he just grew on me to the point where I didn't realize I was gonna have to do it I wrote to 52 companies and said you know I've got this great idea I need five thousand pounds to do it will you sponsor me and they were at back and said no but I did get a five-pound variety carries so it wasn't totally wasted the idea of a solo non-stop circumnavigation was popular at the time however and so the Sunday Times newspaper created what they called the golden globe race and offered a five thousand pound prize purse to the winner enough to buy a family sized house The Sunday Times decided the race would start on the 31st of October myself genre tree and cherry pies have no we're not starting them we must start in June and they couldn't understand why we wanted to start in June and the reason is the one place you don't to hang around in the winter is Cape Horn if we start in midsummer here we'll get off Cape Horn in midsummer in the southern hemisphere which is a sensible time to be there so one of us said well sorry began June so many times very sharp they said we won't be able to be in our race then I don't know what the other suits and I said now you're catching on fast they had to change the rules which meant you could start from the 1st of June to the 31st what tagging but then they thought well to encourage people to go fast we'll put a money prize up the person who gets round fastest starting between those two dates I never actually entered the Sunday Times called my race they announced on my birthday 1968 that I was a I was an entrant along with three others they knew about at the time but I never actually entered now back in Britain and in need of finance he rejoined the Merchant Navy while also focusing on his plans preparing for the biggest challenge of his life a race into the unknown long sea voyages can be fraught with danger and uncertainty but venturing out into the mists of a massive expanse of ocean completely alone at the mercy of Mother Nature demands a certain mentality offshore sailor Alex Thompson's career was launched after Robin appointed him as the youngest skipper in the Clipper 1998 race Alex was just 25 years old then but now he is recognized as one of the leading stars in the sport Robin was the person who took the risk and the responsibility for me to start this whole process maybe he recognized something of me or or I I don't know but he gave me an opportunity that I don't think most people would have done I mean they kept around the world ice gave me the opportunity to show what my cake capability was and if I hadn't have if Robert hadn't taken me on the trial I wouldn't have got a job with clipper if I hadn't got a job with caper I wouldn't have won the Clipper round the world race in 1999 and I would not have met so Keith Mills so my life would be completely different now if it wasn't full of it when you're out on the ocean racing in these solo places whether it be non-stop or stopping I love it I I mean everybody would feel differently about it but for me I love the feeling the freedom I love you know that that humbling feeling you have from being out there in a big ocean and being such a small tiny person um I think we all feel differently but we obviously feel we can feel isolated we can feel lonely we can feel a stress from the risk and and as time goes on as technology gets better that gets easier so back in 1968 1969 how would you know it was gonna come right as far as I was aware they don't just worked out that the earth was round had me decaf re is the first woman to have sailed single-handed and non-stop around the world in both directions she knows only too well what is needed to complete a solo circumnavigation there's no other event that goes on for as long as it doesn't sailing around the world and to do that day in day out no matter what's going on and Trey's a huge your level of strength ultimately you have to remember why you're out there and for me I absolutely love it it's the most hostile environment but it's also some of the best sailing you do and I think it's that reason why we all keep going back out there is because we love it we love the fact that we have endless horizons for sunrises and sunsets we see nature in its natural environment we see the strength and the power of Mother Nature definitely telling us she's in charge and we're trying to harness this power and make it work for ourselves the more I heard about it the more I understood the enormous danger and complexity of what he did under you could only imagine the drive that kept him going I just don't think there's anything very much in in in the years and followed that to match that achievement I think it was absolutely magnificent [Music] Robin knocks Johnston was one of nine sailors who began the golden globe race in 1968 the route for this circumnavigation is a logical one as it's similar to that of olden day clipper sailing ships which loaded with goods to trade with round with the favourable winds as fast as they could [Music] with a start of southwest England it's straight down the Atlantic and round South Africa then across the southern ocean on to Australia New Zealand and across to the infamous Cape Horn rounding the tip of South America and then all the way back up the Atlantic to the finish in the late 1960s there was little precedent for how long this new race might take Francis Chichester had completed his voyage in nine months with a stop but no one knew for certain if the human body and mind could cope with the stresses of sailing the route non-stop and alone I wanted sponsorship so I could build a much bigger boat faster boat I wanted to build a 56 footer which called a moody design for me and I needed about two and a half three thousand to build her out of Steel and the rest of money would have gone on seems that radios and food and stuff it's why I needed five thousand pounds anyway I couldn't raise it so I I got sue Haley I was trying to sell her but no one was interested so that well I've got a boat it'll take now but I was going I mean it was Robin was now totally focused with plans for the looming race there were nine people intent on undertaking this circumnavigation with the favorite being burn of Matisse EA from France Robin was generally regarded as the underdog by the media and in this pioneering age the public were now taking great interest as plans for the race evolved I didn't think I was the underdog at all and I thought actually I'm probably on the best prepared yeah I knew this page inside out and professional seaman I'm a navigated by profession I'm better prepared for this voyage than anyone probably except mateesah so the comments about me being the underdog really was just an annoyance the media particularly Sunday Times wrote me off completely you know they didn't delve into it didn't stop and think the editor of yachting well did we ought to know this Cheston is pretty experienced on the 14th of June 1968 Robin set off from Falmouth in Cornwall on a voyage that was destined to change his life and that of many others his concerned family were there to see him leave Robin's younger brother recalls his departure my father's a very emotional man and a immensely proud of what he was trying to do her very scared I think my mother just kept a brave face but I think it was tough for them very tough I don't know in what their words I remember looking my mother's face was very drawn didn't like that and dad was looking a bit worried my brother Mike was there as well but you know you're gonna have that moment aren't you gonna have to go through that moment it's gonna be there and whatever you do at some point I'm gonna head out so frankly the sooner I get out to see if I can put those thoughts behind me the better focus on the job in hand I mean it's their eldest son going to do this incredible adventure and they you know I remember that evening after he donned was pretty quiet it wasn't a celebration or anything like that there was really a realist quiet time I think probably dawned him you know was this am I gonna see you again and one by one over a period of weeks they left in their small yachts heading out into the unknown isolated and alone set on a non-stop circumnavigation of the planet since that first race over fifty years ago the yachts have become larger and faster with ever improving technology enabling a lighter construction today's sailors are now used to managing extraordinary space over the oceans it's still an incredible challenge to circumnavigate the world but records continue to tumble in late 2018 the single-handed circumnavigation world record stood at an astonishing 42 days 16 hours 40 minutes and 35 seconds set by Frenchman Francois gay bar on his 100-foot trimaran that's eight months faster than Robyn's achievement it's a world apart from the tools used in the 1968 race the radio used to be here the Marconi Kestrel and that's the only communication I had I mean nowadays I've got a VHF I've gone direction finder didn't have that in those days which also gives me a long ways and get weather forecasts obviously we've got a clock you've got a barometer and they're new but the guiness one is the one that was given me by the pub in down before I set sail and frankly was absent valuable it's only scientific instrument out onboard apart from the sextant I absolute vital information that you know as the pressure was coming through nowadays I have two different types of satellite phones I've got a tracker I've got probably 10 GPS is five other different emergency devices you know I can be in contact all the time if I want a videoconference my kid at school in theory I could I'd like to think today you don't necessarily feel lonely but you could feel isolated whereas back when Robin did it obviously there was no communication so you'd have the loneliness and the isolation people forget that without satellites there's no GPS we didn't have that what we have is a sextant which was used for measuring the height of a body celestial body above the horizon and the time and armed with that information we could then work out a position line it's just a line if you take a sight of the Sun in the morning your line is gonna be perpendicular to the aerial and Sun so my line now is actually if I get it right my longitude and then wait for midday and the sun's its maximum height and I take that reading that's a much simpler calculation and that will give me an attitude in between taking those two sides and cross it with the latitude I've got a fix and that's how we used to know yet exactly the same way as Captain Cook did 250 years ago another great British navigator and tactician is Sir Ben Ainslie the most successful and limping sailor of all time with four gold medals and a silver over the years he and Robin have become great friends and has been embarks on a major British challenge for the America's Cup trophy the technological advances he has at his disposal are the best in the world well I think the tactics and strategy and Golden Globe race were again were were amazing considering the lack of aids navigational aids tactical aids that were available compared with what we have these days it's really all hook in the park in comparison not having any Webber routing for example so having to really use that Siemens intuition if you like seafarers intuition of what the wind would do next what the ocean currents were doing dealing with all of that with no backup or support again that just highlights what an amazing achievement it was Robin's great adventure was underway in June 1968 making his way south from the UK where he began not only keeping a ship's log but a diary too noting that others in the race were about to start their own journey behind him 19th July 1968 day 35 you're on work we're down for 30 for my radio call to Bruce at Oh 500 got through without definitely had quite a good circuit considering the ranges nearly 3,000 miles I've read to imply there's no news by keeping a good lookout for King of mateship and starts in about a fortnight there's two were me both have larger boats and Sue hailey I will only have seven week start I can't afford to hang about but as he progressed down through the Atlantic not only was he suffering from about of jaundice but he was facing mounting issues with the stresses of the open ocean on sue Haley well the first problem was the boat was leaking one drop and so I had to take all the sails down as I got towards the equator and do some repairs in water and I tacked just stupid copper but on the leaking scene and it took about two days because I can only put one tack in between get me some more air so I get a deep breath of air dive down could attack him come back up become another tactic a deep breath down put another one in and he was going fine till the shot came on we go away so that was annoying me as it's distracting you know you don't know what pointing about to sell you I smile under my legs so I climbed out for water he would do through some damage and paper and water it was the scavengers and as he came to the surface to bite the lavatory paper I shot him watched him sink he waited and waited flat - and now the Sharks turned up so I was able to go inside and finish the job there's no nonsense defiance not only helped Robin complete the race in 1969 but has set the tone for other achievements throughout his life often joining together with others in new adventures so Chris Bonnington created a reputation as the UK's leading Mountaineer becoming a world leading authority on the sport he's also worked on many projects with Robin and recalls his pioneering spirit I think the whole Golden Globe race if you like was fascinating there were a lot of sailors who wanted to be the first person to sail around the world non-stop single-handed Robin in some ways was one of the less experienced long-distance sailors going in for it his boat was undoubtedly the slowest boat and he I think just he just wanted to do it and he wasn't trying to make that break any records he was interested in just doing it he wasn't racing he just kept going [Music] 22nd September 1968 day a hundred last day of southern winter work to find us heading north sue got up and jived a male bear badly during the night and what with that he was all the bruises and an eye that throbbed a fellas vote just gone through ten rounds because his play as win was down and it Out's himself and then went back to bed it's warm and reasonably dry there and I feel very tired after almost three months Robin had sailed the length of the Atlantic and was rounding the Cape of Good Hope off of South Africa his pace was not quick however and the others who started later than he did were evidently closing on him but next was the infamous Southern Ocean and down into the roaring 40s Southern Ocean is some of the best sailing you can do it's the most hostile environment rescue is not possible and you're pretty much out there on your own but it's also some of the best sailing you do the swells here can be massive and the storms unforgiving and so it proved when sue Haley was not flat in one of the many ferocious storms with life-threatening consequences for Robin I had six girls in the first ten days in the Southern Ocean including the one that not the boat right over and that's when I lost my fresh water and damaged the self-steering I despair for the self-steering water was a different problem and I looked at what I got on board and I still had about our honeymoon ten cans of beer I thought well if I drink feel for there's a day I've got enough liquid to keep my body going and that would get me level with Australia in the meantime I'll see what I can capture the sales from the rain but then once I got into the Southern Ocean we're dealing with a very very different type of way much much bigger and when she was like bored sewing on today and they were hitting out and it was like an anvil being swung against the Harlem terrible cracking noise and also just pushing her over and he's very jerky I realized she couldn't take that falak I had to do something about it and I got out this long length of rope I bought last-minute purchase because 16 pounds probably my best every investment and I just put it out made it fast up the front to put one side out here huge great loop around the back and then brought it back in this side and that is a break and so Haley just runs straight down wave and of course for this canoe stand yeah Weejun stabbed she was very comfortable because just rode it so actually very quickly I realized when we got to those conditions but nothing I can do but go to sleep get some rest while Robin and the others were battling their way across the world's oceans astronauts were defying gravity and leaving the planet behind them the crew of Apollo a carved their names in history when they achieved an orbit of the moon for the first time followed in 1969 by the moon landings these were remarkable achievements celebrated worldwide only later when Robin completed his circumnavigation with these milestones for mankind compared 1969 what a real golden year for the idea of sort of moving the boundaries of showing that the kind of things we'd always assumed controlled us and limited us didn't necessarily have to control this or limit us anymore they were magnificent those American astronauts but I wasn't planned out terribly carefully with their safety very very much in mind Robin didn't have that it was on his own and a boat that he mostly built by himself it's easy to put in perspective what Robin did because at that time they put a man on the moon and yet they thought it was impossible for someone to sell solo non-stop around the world so in 68 69 they equated sailing solo non-stop in the world the same as putting a man on the moon so that tells you how difficult it was but Robins radio wasn't installed by NASA and back in 1968 now four months into the golden globe race he had encountered more difficulties nearing Australia he'd gone two months without any communication after his own radio had become damp and unable to transmit rumors were spreading that disaster had overtaken him once the radio breakdown that had it and it was so frustrating because the receivers too light and I could hear them calling me and I couldn't respond to them and because they weren't telling me what was going on they could have said by the way this is happening so I really knew nothing about what was happening with the others off of Melbourne roben engaged with a pilot vessel and asked them to take his mail explaining he was 147 days help from the UK eventually they agreed and the world knew that he was still alive and still going but by now of the nine sailors that had begun this great adventure only Robin and three others were still in the race as the rest had either given up or been forced to retire through breakages after passing New Zealand he faced the fearsome Pacific Ocean thousands of miles of Solitude well main problem of Pacific was the weather turned on me I got a lot of Easterners which slowed me up and I was very conscious of the Frenchman off New Zealand they told me that he was about four weeks behind me so I thought this isn't looking bad at all I got these Easter eggs I must have lost nearly ten days in the Pacific that was extremely frustrating I ran into a ferocious storm that's when the waves swamp about when I was on deck and I tried the most I was getting away stop being washed off what nice when you see a town big wave coming towards the boat and you'll shinny up the mast hanging on to Wow no idea how high that way is gonna be when it goes over the boat he's even washing me off from up here I just don't know and then the wave hits and the whole boat despit and you're hanging on to this mast looking down at water because the boats are it's under water and eventually it seems after age as it pops up and okay but for a while as you and to master nothing in sight for fifty number bars in the direction that is why was only about two hundred and thirty people who sell around the world single-handed in late 1968 Robin was still grimly battling his way across the Pacific his last contact was with fisherman of New Zealand and with weeks passing with no word from him he was again regarded as missing and fears increased the vital information that his radio was unable to transmit had not been passed on the rumors were of course difficult you know people wanted to see the worst or he won't make it he's gone he's had it you know the boats come apart well there's all these rumors going around I suppose until we could have it confirmed that those we didn't know what was that Israeli didn't work or anything else like that we just thought maybe he just decided to keep quiet for a while after sailing for 217 days he was actually approaching the infamous Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America where countless ships have met their end due to frequent raging storms this is the final major caped around in the race he had now been alone at sea for more than seven months and nobody knew where he was or even if he was still alive seventeenth Jerry 1969 day 280 wind died this afternoon I've had lots of sail up at the moment however dark cloud is for me to windward I can see rain falling on the land so I'll probably have to reduce sail shortly was a short rain school and when it lifted I could plainly see the two tower rocks have made the southwest that we kept in a harness we've passed it Cape Horn is just another day yes there's a big one because once you're past it yet you're still gonna have to go on in a Southern Ocean a bit longer but eventually gonna turn north and you're gonna lose that swell it's been rolling your boat for the last five months everyone talks about Cape Horn in these huge ways I'm City know I can see that ominous black clouds over the land there's something on its way this is not the place to hang around and the currents just quietly drifting you passed but there was still almost another three months to survive out in the Atlantic Ocean and up through the dreaded doldrums area for the second time Robin refocus determined to see it through concentrating his efforts at the time of the race and non-stop circumnavigation like this had never been achieved it was the ultimate test in sailing demanding extraordinary physical and mental willpower later in life this determination skill and resolve enabled him to successfully develop his career and eventually led to the spark of an idea that has subsequently created new opportunities and changed thousands of people's lives forever Robin could never have imagined the legacy he would create later in life as he passed 300 days at sea during his circumnavigation in 1969 finally after months of silence missing and presumed lost at sea Robin had been sighted heading for home I had no idea where anyone else was until about a week from my finish nothing on the radio at all and is that your French post that came over and I had called him up the lamp lasted to report metalloids sad tune now if I'd been reported by the other ship he said yes you on the scene very strange answer that I said we're hizmet is a they said in the Indian oceans no way matters is a confession you must be very close to me they tried to make me slow up but if Atticus he was but and I suddenly realize home I've done I've got a week to go all I'm gonna do to get through the fishing treats to get to Falmouth we've done it we all got down to Falmouth but brothers and I were all on a Navy minesweeper that went out to track it my parents run another ship we found him and we were sort of partnering him coming up the channel of the outer reaches itself other boats were coming around and I decided to keep him company during this it's lasted 24 36 hours first of all the memories slow down I could have finished in the morning I passed the listen I was coming up and they said what time we give the fellowship I said about nine o'clock the to me to slow down because Marineris will be ready because she's coming ahead on so I slowed down the wind changed iein actually finished the 320 in the afternoon by which time the poor dears hairstyle was ruined anyway so I'm trying to hit up the finish line the Sunday Times decided it's different to what I thought it was that leads to another an Avenger across the finish line and about twenty fourth straight day 312 about twenty-five past three on April the 22nd and Robert Knox Johnson and Sue Haley have sailed non-stop around the world eventually came him mooring and to be shown event and of course oficio said you know if I could walk a lot so I so stood that sort of feeling my legs see if I could stand up alright found I could but I couldn't walk very far not more than 200 yards my ankles wouldn't take it the Welcome was much bigger than I think any of us expected it to be and he I think it took him a little bit of time to get used to what was going on he knew he had responsibilities he said it got his minds ready for that I even then I don't think he was he was ready for everything that happened in those sort of few days after its own and certainly for the next few months I mean dreaming for a long time about what the first thing I'd do when I got ashore thinking you know there's gonna be no fuss anyway so I'll just go to a pub and I got myself a pint of beer a steak and then I'll have a bath because that was those seem to me to be the priorities I wasn't aware of the fact that was gonna be all this fast when I got back so it actually took me a while before I got any of them by the reception excuse my hoarse voice very much appreciate seeing so many people here and thank you very much indeed for your reception after finishing the race first Robin entered a new world with the glare of publicity focused on him he wrote a book about his incredible voyage which earned him considerable royalties such was his newfound fame that involved a UK book tour and countless speaking engagements he was also invited to Buckingham Palace and bestowed the honor of being made a commander of the British Empire for his sailing achievement a CBE that same year he was also named as the yachtsman of the Year by the yachting journalists association now in the public eye with such demands on his time he left the Merchant Navy for roles where his knowledge and experience were invaluable that included the design and build of a new marina on the handle on England's south coast and then in London with the development of sand Katharine's dock over the next few years he became reconciled with sue and they remarried in 1972 moving to the south coast where they settled into a new life however his daughter Sarah recalls how her father would often be away from home for long periods as his career blossomed my earliest memories are it's just rather lovely huge man used to turn up because he was in the Navy and so I didn't see him every day and I do remember putting my hand inside his hand and the feel of his palms it was like holding hands with Pinocchio incredibly hard skin and it was fascinating growing up with dad going off and doing these things it wasn't too worrying because I knew how very experts and he hates that one very very good he was and still is at what he chooses to do it must have been worse for mom but she seemed to accept it she'd known him since she was six [Music] yeah you just have to accept it and you can't hold someone back you must never hold someone back mom used to say what would what he would have been like if he hadn't done around the world in in 68 69 I dread to think I'm very proud of him yeah because if you sailed on sue Haley you know incredibly special as she is she's not comfortable she's really designed for one person to sail her and I'm yes I'm very proud of what he's achieved [Music] Robynn knocks johnston became the first man to sail nonstop and alone around the world in 1969 it was an incredible achievement that earned him worldwide fame and recognition but this was only the start of what would become a glittering career Robyn continued racing professionally sought after as a navigator and tactician he was involved in winning a round Britain race for the first time in 1970 took line honours in the 1971 Cape to Rio race and then another circumnavigation joining a team and the second Whitbread round-the-world race with Robin winning the legs he skippered his success continued the allure of achievement as strong as ever and in 1993 together with famed sailor Peter Blake from New Zealand they set off to attempt the transit Jules Verne record attempting the fastest circumnavigation ever but they failed their huge catamaran hit a submerged object tearing a hole in the hull a year later they tried again and this time succeeded establishing a new world record of 74 days 22 hours 18 minutes and 22 seconds yet another remarkable achievement after this new success receiving his second yachtsman of the Year award he was recalled to buckingham palace to receive a knighthood in recognition of his achievements in sailing and was forevermore to be known as Sir Robin Knox Johnston in 2007 now 68 years old Robin took on another great challenge competing in the Velux five oceans race circumnavigating the world alone again finishing fourth in 159 days his third yachtsman of the Year award followed and he continued his racing career from there taking third in his class for transatlantic race on his huge open 60-foot yacht called grey power sailing it single-handedly aged 75 the story at the first Golden Globe race in Jaws even after 50 years as it affected the lives of everyone involved and there was also heartbreak two of the nine that started Robin was the only one to finish but it's now known that Donald Crowhurst had falsified his reports and updates during the race to give the impression he had sailed further than he actually had his yacht was found drifting and abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean after the race as the lies unraveled Donald's son recalls hearing the news about his father's yacht I remember the day that my mother having spoken to two nuns who will walk down I Drive and came to see her took us upstairs to told us that my father's boat had been found but that he wasn't on it and then she she broke down in tears we tried to sort of consult her and reassure her that we sure he'd be all right and that he'd be fine but that was with the tragedy unfolding the family were in financial crisis too as their house had been mortgaged to build Donald's yacht when Robin heard about this he immediately donated his five thousand-pound winnings to the crew Hearst family look they were about to lose the house the four kids the oldest is 12 been through a tough enough time as it is I never expected to win it and you know I've got good advance on the book doing it all and I'd no idea what I was gonna do next anyway at that time I was just concerned that these kids didn't lose their house I don't remember seeing my mother's reaction to when she heard about the prize money being given to our family but things lightened from that point and the the darkness was not certainly not quite as dark and there did seem to be a way ahead although Robin was the first to finish for many years there was speculation that Frenchman Bernhard Matisse yet could possibly have been faster or even beaten him home as after rounding Cape Horn mateesah gave up and continued on to Tahiti instead of heading to the finish recently discovered in Robins archive long forgotten is a letter written from the Frenchman in 1981 congratulating his rival recognizing that he was not leading the race at the time and didn't know whether he could have won or not [Music] to mark the 50th anniversary of Robyn's achievement a weekend of celebrations and Falmouth were planned to commemorate his finishing the Golden Globe race in 1969 together with friends and family he sailed su hailey along the south coast to a wonderfully warm reception his footprints have been immortalized on the dockside to remember his achievements and fifty years to the day a flotilla was out to accompany him and sue Haley as they set about recreating that historic finish after 312 days at sea on the 22nd of April at 3:25 in the afternoon [Music] day 312 about 25 past 3:00 on April the 22nd and Robert Knox Johnson and Sue Haley have sailed non-stop around the world [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and he stepped ashore at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club just as he did before to a hero's welcome once again this is fantastic for my sport of sailing all these people out there just enjoying the day out several mention something in happened 50 years ago which I suppose we Brits should be proud of because we did it first one way or another but it was just fantastic looking back just thought lovely [Music] robin's imagination and thirst for adventure saw him take on many more challenges through his life on a one such journey the spark of an idea came to him has led to a remarkable achievement in opening up the sport to everyone on the planet I was in green on the crisp awning Tintin climbing and he was telling him that climbing Mount Everest and tell me how much it cost I thought well what's this alien condom and every second navigation when there must be people out there who'd love to do that but can't afford about or have got about but haven't got confidence to do it supposin we got about well skipper how much would have to charge those people to let me around the world and he came out about half what it cost to climb Mount Everest Robbins plans were in their infancy but then he was introduced to a businessman who became inspired by his vision first time I met bargain was in the summer of 95 and it was really wanted to get the Clipper race underway it was through a friend of a friend and would I invest in in the business and along the short batters after meeting Robin groans and now him and over the course the next three months invested with him and we form clipper race than the start of the idea to starting the first race was enough once during that time we had to recruit crews interviewing bill boats select skippers train the crews work out the route it was a very busy level months but we did it they aren't your thing that convinced me once I decided that I thought he was a good guy and would stand his corner but was actually reading the application forms and the passion to do to follow his footsteps that was the thing that turned me the clipper race has continually evolved over more than 20 years and is firmly established as the only opportunity for complete amateurs to firstly learn how to sail but then to go on and sail around the world over 5,000 people have taken part so far as it continues to grow now with eleven circumnavigations completed at the time I don't think we really knew what it we were doing as far as yeah it was the one hell of an adventure to start with eight boats eight skippers no staff whatsoever to to in the office and Liam Robin so we will repair as PR everything it was really so taking the bull by the horns which again if he wanted a better part that to do something and you couldn't get better than Robin to do that with his sailing knowledge his impact ideas and innovation his ability to inspire lead and teach others is legendary and his vision has enabled thousands of people to take up the sport and transform their lives forever I think his biggest legacy will be probably be clip adventures in the end I mean sailing being the first person sell non-stop around the world you'll never take that away from him but he has introduced so many people into our sport that had been very hard to quantify what our landscape would be like without him as a person is a guy that stands - with you under any circumstances I can't think of a more man Mountain than Robin they'd want on your side anything you were doing if you were down I mean if she wrote and that's really important as a business partner and as a mate Robin by opening up the whole idea of abstaining around the world near and not keeping it as a little something that only he and a couple of others have done but to say to two broad audience of people you can do it we can help you but you yourself possess the ability to do this kind of thing just as I do Sir Robert Knox Johnson is really the complete Sailor you know going better go on global success Jules Verne record successes but you know biggest thing for me probably uh despite all of that is the fact he's still racing competitively at 80 years old and that's a massive inspiration I I really hope that I can be sailing like he is at 80 years old so Robin is a legend he he encompasses everything that has built our sport to what it is today and I think people probably underestimate or don't even realize just how involved he's been in so many aspects of our sport his achievement inspired generations to follow in his footsteps there's no question that winning the golden toe changed my life completely that meeting William Ward was probably one of the best things that's happened in my life and we we were able to put this idea together and make it happen I think the Clipper race has been one of those things that has brought so much benefit to so many people change their lives dramatically they're proud they've done something special with their lives so I think William and I can equip are up and going and keeping it running there's been perhaps one of the most satisfying things I've done Robin and his famous yacht soon Haylie have lived their lives in twine together now eighty years old Robin is considering the future for both of them so here is a personal friend she's been well part of my life since I was 24 years old when I saw her keel the log for her killed coming to the yard in Bombay and so I'm very very fond of her you know she's very special to me sometime you have to realize they're gonna drop off this molten core and find some way for her to go where she'd be perhaps respected and looked after the alternative of course will be devil Viking funeral but Robin is still going strong in business and with his plans for more adventures I do want to get back up to the Arctic so we can carry on diving under eye spokes and looking at some of the most fantastic scenery there is on this planet so at some stage I shall wander off again [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

Views: 412,942

Rating: 4.9319873 out of 5

Keywords: history, full documentary, documentaries, full length documentaries, documentary movies - topic, channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, sailing (sport), sailing alone around the world, around the world, sailing around the world, adventure (tv genre), documentary (tv genre), sailing alone around the world (book), sailing documentary, sir robin knox-johnston, sir robin knox-johnston sailing legend

Id: WdIIYr1GdIs

Length: 56min 34sec (3394 seconds)

Published: Thu May 14 2020