gipsy moth iv, the most famous yacht
in maritime history

i had lunch today at 'the wharf' at the republic of singapore yacht club. the oldest yacht club in singapore, it is located at west coast ferry road. the club was marked a historic site by the national heritage board in 2000.

after lunch, i decided to take a walk to the marina to have a look at the clipper boats that were moored there. was i surprised to see the world's most famous yacht docked by the side!

gipsy moth iv is a 54ft ketch that sir francis chichester commissioned specifically to race single handed around the globe racing against the times set by the clipper ships in the 19th century.

gipsy moth iv made maritime history in 1966-67 when sir francis chichester completed the fastest solo circumnavigation in a small vessel, sailing from plymouth to a stop-over in sydney and back via cape horn in just 274 days (226 days actual sailing time).

gipsy moth iv remained undisturbed but slowly and surely rotting away until in 2004 she was purchased by the united kingdom sailing academy for the sum of £1 and a glass of gin & tonic (sir francis' favourite tipple) and taken to the famous camper & nicholson yard for restoration.

it was reported in the straits times on thursday that singapore sailor elaine chua will be part of a six-member crew that will sail it on nov 21 to phuket. for this second voyage, which started in september 2005, the overall journey will take 22 months, incorporating 25 countries and 32 official stopovers.