Francis Chichester (1901–1972)

Chichester had a very direct writing style, which I assume was very much in line with his character - a person defined by his actions and the next challenge. This is the third book of his that I have read. In a way, I am working backwards through his life. I started with his circumnavigation of the globe by sail and subsequent knighthood. In this book I find context with his earlier achievements in flight and navigation and listlessness as a young man. Typically of Chichester, this book show more provides little detail of internal thought and relationships, but delivers on giving you a sense of what he was able to accomplish and his desire to throw himself in the deep end to succeed in new pursuits. show less

Chichester’s account of his preparation and participation in his first solo ocean race from Plymouth to New York in 1960 aboard Gypsy Moth III. The Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, later referred to as OSTAR marked the beginning of a quadrennial event which grew from 5 entries in 1960 to 40 entries by 1972. Although an accomplished sailor in his late 50’s, Chichester shares his foibles as well as triumphs as he prepares for this historical race. His writing assumes that the show more reader is relatively well versed in sailing terminology when describing the design and testing of his beloved self-steering invention that he refers to as “Miranda”. He somewhat nonchalantly records the 30 day race itself with frequent naps and “chatter” breaks with his favorite whiskey. Perhaps most interesting to modern sailors are the descriptions of the seemingly ancient navigation & communication equipment used less than 50 years ago. The event marked the beginning of a brave new world in sailboat racing from privately funded sportsmanship to corporate sponsored high stakes competition. I found it a pleasure to read and a window into the sometimes forgotten formative years of solo sailing competition. show less

Chichester recounts the story of how he set out from Brooklands Surrey in November 1929 with the aim of breaking Bert Hinkler's fifteen and a half day solo flight record to Australia. Filled with details of the countries he visits, the characters he meets and his hours in the plane, along with detours, scrapes and near misses along the way. Told with wonderful warmth and humour Sir Chichester brings to life his exciting account of aviation history.
Solo to Sydney is a book by Sir Francis show more Chichester about his solo flight in the 1920s from England to Australia in a de Havilland DH.60 Moth biplane. The book was first published in 1930 and subsequent editions have been published by Stein and Day. Chichester had relatively little flying experience when he undertook this epic voyage and the book recalls his experiences in dealing with bad weather, poor, or non-existent navigational aids and maps and his journey in general. Chichester was even more famous for his yachting achievements in a series of boats he named Gypsy Moth after his airplane. show less

In my childhood I remember my Dad following the reports of Frances Chichester's single-handed circumnavigation of the world. Being capsized at one point sticks in my memory.
It turns out that this happened soon after he left Sydney when, against advice, Chichester sailed into the path of a storm, on his way to pass to the north New Zealand. It was a remarkable journal, which probably did not capture the public interest until Jon Sanders did three circumnavigations without stopping, and show more Jessica Watson completed a version of circumnavigation as as a 16 year old.
Chichester's book is a description of the voyage through his own eyes. A fair bit of space is spent on describing the technical aspects - which sail went up, which rope failed etc. which may be interesting for sailors, but probably less so for those not familiar with the jargon.
I was a remarkable voyage, all the more so because he did it without any modern navigation aids, and patchy radio contact.
Fun fact: He was shadowed around the bottom of South America by HMS Protector, which in the previous decade had gone to the aid of ship in distress that had onboard Edmund Hillary and Vivian Fuchs. show less