Sailor in the Spotlight Interview - Sir Robin Knox-Johnston

Forty years ago, nine men set out to be the first to sail around the world without stopping. The craft ranged from suicidal to merely questionable, as did most of the sailors themselves. One man, however - a merchant marine with a small, heavy, hand-built teak boat - decided to give it a shot. He sailed out of Falmouth with what some called a pipe-dream, and sailed back a Legend.

There are few living legends. Certainly there are people walking around who've achieved celebrity, respect, and even greatness, but 'Legendary' is an adjective reserved for only a hand full of exceptional people - a very exclusive club. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first person to single-hand around the globe non-stop, is most certainly that club's Commodore.

Sir Robin was, is, and shall forever be the first man to circumnavigate solo and non-stop. With over a half-million miles under his keel, and a number of other records since his first trip 'round (including the Jules Verne Trophy), Knox-Johnston is the sailor's sailor. YachtPals is deeply honored to feature the Master Mariner himself as our latest Sailor in the Spotlight.

We spoke with Sir Robin in New York.

YP: 55 years ago Hillary conquered Everest, and 40 years ago you conquered the globe. There's criticism that now unskilled people can climb Everest or race around the world, if they just have the money. Since the Clipper Race seems geared toward making ocean racing accessible to average people, do you think armchair critics can define 'adventure,' when it is in fact such a personal thing?

RKJ: I do think it's a personal thing. I'm not against rules, but I'm against foolhardiness. With the Clipper Race we make a tremendous effort into training people, because it's fundamental. You know, the essence of good seamanship is safety. So we really focus HARD on training people to be safe at sea.

You know... You've raised a good point. There are people who set off, and they're irresponsible because they haven't bothered to train themselves up, learned what they're trying to do, gained some experience. And the next thing, they're getting other people to risk their lives, just to come and help them out of a stupid mistake they shouldn't have made. I've got very little sympathy for those people, in fact I'm quite critical of them. They've no right to go out, and cause others to risk their lives.

 

YP: So then do you believe in EPIRBs and other high tech safety equipment, or should one be solely responsible for their own safety at sea?

RKJ: Well, I think they've been invented, and since they are here, we should use them. I mean the world has changed in the last forty years. When I went around the first time, none of those things existed. There weren't any satellites anyway, so they couldn't. The fact that they exist is good - it does mean that when things go terribly wrong, there is a way of attracting attention. But what I'm concerned about is people I think tend to over use these things. They use it when they think it is an emergency, and it's patently not an emergency. And that does trouble me. I'd like people to feel that it's an absolute last resort, not something they just press because a fairly minor thing has happened.

 

YP: Speaking of emergencies at sea, you've sailed so many miles in your life, what advice would you give to other sailors about how to avoid emergencies in the first place?

RKJ: The first thing is: before you do any big voyage, get to know your boat. Before you set out on a boat on a long voyage, make sure 1: you've got the experience, and 2: you've just got everything you could possibly need - and then apply common sense. Don't go out in a gale, that's stupid - wait 'til it has passed.

You know, a little bit of apprehension before you go sailing means that you focus very much on 'have I got everything right before I go?' That's not a bad thing.

 

 

YP: I've got to say that when I was a little girl on the docks, there were, and still are, two names revered by all of the sailors: Joshua Slocum, and Robin Knox-Johnston. When you set out to to be the first solo sailor to go around the world non-stop in 1968, did you ever consider that you'd become a living legend?

RKJ: I don't think about it. You know, you're too busy living your own life, aren't you?

 

YP: Well, you did so well in the Velux 5 Oceans [2007], I wonder what might have happened if you hadn't given your competitors a chance to rest. Would you race around non-stop again today?

RKJ: I'm certainly not planning it at the moment [laughing]. I don't know, I'm going to have to see what happens.

 

YP: You know, there is another record becoming available to you. Isn't Minoru Saito the oldest person to go around at 71? In a few years you could hold another record.

RKJ: Well, I could. In fact, when Minoru did that, he rang me 10 minutes after he finished, and I just said to him 'Thanks Minoru, I was looking forward to retirement' [laughing].

YP: If you were going to circumnavigate solo again, what boat would you take?

RKJ: I suppose it would probably still be an Open 60. They're good boats, they're fast boats. But if I were to go around the world again, I suspect it would be in a nice big comfortable cruiser. I would visit all the places I'd like to go to again, and the places I didn't visit before.

YP: So that leads me to ask: What are the places you want to visit again, and where do you still want to explore?

RKJ: I spent a lot of my early years in the Indian Ocean. I would also like to go back and visit some parts of Africa, which most people don't go to, and go see them again. And, I'd like to get back to India again.

The places I've never been to, that I'd like to explore are... Well, for instance, west coast of Canada. I'd love to explore that [...], and Greenland, I'd like to do more of that. They're are so many places in the world that one would like to go and see, and you know, I haven't crossed them off the list yet.

 

YP: What do you think are the qualities of a good ocean sailor?

RKJ: Patience, a certain amount of stubbornness, and absolutely essential is a sense of humor.

 

YP: And since you have successfully sailed around the world three times now, what would you say are the secrets to a successful circumnavigation?

RKJ: The secret of it is: Train yourself up to be ready for it. If you want to be good at something like that you've got to be a good seaman - you've got to be a good sailor. You have to be capable of keeping your boat going, that means you have to be a good maintainer of the boat.

I'll quote an example to you. You have in Halifax, John Hughes, the first Canadian to sail single-handed around the world. His background was merchant marine like me. He was ready for it, he knew what to do on a boat, he's got the right temperament for it. He's an example of the right sort of person who makes a voyage like that.

 

 

 

YP: You now have over 500,000 sea miles of experience, an incredible feat in itself. If you could sit down at the docks with the young Robin before he set off from Falmouth in 1968, what advice would you give him?

RKJ: You know, there is not a great deal. When I look back on that, I realize actually, my life had prepared me for that voyage. I was a professional seaman, I'd built my boat in India, and sailed it home. I knew it inside out. The oceans of the world were my home. I don't think he needed any advice from me now - to be honest with you.

 

YP: Well, apparently not. 'He' did pretty well!

RKJ: Yeah, well I was a stubborn bastard.

 

YP: [laughing] That reminds me, I read that when you went to the psychiatrist before or after the famous Golden Globe race in '68, he described you as 'disturbingly normal', is that right?

RKJ: Yeah, that was at the end of the race. You know what worries me about that comment? I thought the psychiatrist was a bit odd. So when he said that, I wondered if I really should believe it, because I wasn't sure about his judgment.

 

YP: So you found the psychiatrist 'disturbingly odd'?
RKJ: You got it in one! [laughing]

 

YP: When is your next big race?

RKJ: I have no idea. I don't work like that you know. I get an idea and I'll go and do it, but I don't sit down and feel ' I've got to think of something to do.' I just never worked like that. When I get an idea, it gets a grip on me, then I'll go off and do it. Yeah, I don't spend hours thinking 'oh my goodness, what am I going to do next?' You know, what I'm going to do next will come along to me. I'll get an idea, and then off I'll go. But, I haven't got one at the moment.

 

YP: OK, we'll work on that.

RKJ: Yeah, yeah, pass the ideas on to me.

 

YP: Alright, I'll do that! Sam Davies told me last week that she "listens" to her boat, because sound and vibration are the first signs of trouble. How do you watch for trouble on a boat, and how do you know when you're pushing too hard?

RKJ: Sam is absolutely right. You do listen to your boat, you also FEEL your boat - you can feel if your boat is not comfortable. You've got to get to know your boat of course, so you know what that feel should be; what is the limit. But some things are pretty obvious - you feel them or hear them, and that alerts you.

 

 

YP: So, how do you prepare for a storm at sea?

RKJ: When you know you've got a bad one coming, you just say 'OK, let just check 'round the boat. Is everything stowed properly? Is everything safe? Is nothing going to come loose? Have I got everything lashed well?' Then as the storm begins to hit you, you just reduce sail and then worry about keeping the boat comfortable.

 

 

YP: How do you know when your boat is over canvased?

RKJ: It's very difficult to walk about the cabin, because it's on its side [laughing].

 

YP: Very funny, Robin. Loick Peyron told me recently that he sees basically two different ways of sailing. There's the 'oak' way - strong sailing and waiting to break something before reducing sail, and the 'bamboo' way, where you bend to the situation, and respect your boat to ensure a finish. Would you say you have an 'oak' or 'bamboo' way of racing?

RKJ: Bamboo, definitely. Look at it this way, if you take off on a race and smash your boat, you've lost. You've got to finish a race to win. I liked that comment by Loick by the way, that's a good one.

 

YP: And he's quite a good sailor.

RKJ: He's more than that, he's a VERY good sailor.

 

 

 

YP: You've been so many interesting places, when you dream of sitting on your boat at anchor, where do you dream of?

RKJ: It could be off a nice tropical sandy beach, it could be up a little inlet in Scotland with no one else anchored there, or it could be surrounded by ice up in Greenland. I mean, there are so many choices aren't there?

Any anchorage where the anchor is holding well, the boat is safe, there's nobody else bothering you - hopefully no one in sight, that's perfect for me.

 

YP: That does sound perfect. Any advice for other future circumnavigators?

RKJ: My advice to them would be quite simply this. If you've got the idea, and you want to do it, do it. Don't let ANYTHING get in the way. Far too many people sit in the yacht clubs talking about it, and never do it. DO IT! You'll never regret it.

 

 

-Kim Hampton for YachtPals.com

 

 

Video clip of a interview with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, before he competed in the Velux 5 Oceans last year.

Submitted By YachtPals on 08 Jun

Sailor in the Spotlight, Robin Knox-Johnston, sailing records, Sir Robin, Robin, Knox-Johnston, Knox Johnston, Knox, Johnston

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