Kirjahaku

This is the story of two single-handed non-stop round-the-world voyages: Robin Knox-Johnston’s in 1968/69 and Ellen MacArthur’s in 2004/05. Although there were similarities – both voyages started and finished in Falmouth, for instance, and neither sailor was in a conventional race – the story is mainly one of contrasts, mostly as a consequence of thirty-six years of technological developments. These gave MacArthur the opportunity for a considerably faster voyage, but that didn’t necessarily make things any easier for her. When Knox-Johnston set sail in Suhaili, no one knew if it was possible for a human being or a boat to survive such a voyage; and when MacArthur commissioned her boat B&Q, many considered that a high-performance trimaran of that size could not be safely sailed around the world by one person. Whatever comparisons are made, the question as to which was the greater achievement is futile: both voyages were utterly remarkable. MacArthur is no longer 'the fastest', of course – her time has since been beaten by three Frenchmen – but she is still the fastest British solo circumnavigator, while Knox-Johnston’s record as 'the first' will be there for all time.

In May 1940, following the rapid advance of German troops through Holland, Belgium and France, the British Expeditionary Force and French army retreated to Dunkirk. Operation Dynamo was instigated in an attempt to rescue as many of them as possible. With the harbour at Dunkirk severely damaged, much of the evacuation would have to take place from the beaches; only small, shallow-draught boats could do this. After appealing to boatyards, yacht clubs and yachtsmen throughout the South East of England, the Admiralty managed to round up around 700 small craft which, along with 200 military vessels, were able to rescue an astonishing 338,226 troops over nine days. In 1965, forty-three vessels which had taken part in the evacuation commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary by crossing from Ramsgate to Dunkirk, and the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships was formed soon afterwards. More than fifty years on, over 120 Little Ships are still in commission and it is thought that hundreds of others may still survive. This is their story.

Peter Nicholson is an extraordinarily accomplished man. As one of the last generations to be called up for National Service, he joined the Fleet Air Arm and learned to land aircraft on an aircraft carrier. He was the fourth generation of the Nicholson family to run the world-famous boatbuilding company Camper & Nicholsons. Nicholson has been a highly successful racing sailor, often in boats to whose design he contributed. Amongst several other maritime administration positions, he was Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron and Chairman of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, overseeing various innovative projects in both cases. After his involvement with Camper & Nicholsons ended in the early 1980s, Nicholson successfully branched out into a number of other businesses, including housing development, local radio, banking, shipping, finance, jewellery retail, building tennis courts and swimming pools, and the production of heat pumps, spectacles and electrical components. He has enjoyed several sports other than sailing, and has been a proficient golfer and skier, still tackling black runs at the age of 91. This is his story.