Robin Knox-Johnston – författare

On Friday 14 June 1968 Suhaili, a tiny ketch, slipped almost unnoticed out of Falmouth harbour steered by the solitary figure at her helm, Robin Knox-Johnston. Ten and a half months later Suhaili, paintwork peeling and rust streaked, her once white sails weathered and brown, her self-steering gone, her tiller arm jury rigged to the rudderhead, came romping joyously back to Falmouth to a fantastic reception for Robin, who had become the first man to sail round the world non-stop single-handed.By every standard it was an incredible adventure, perhaps the last great uncomputerised journey left to man. Every hazard, every temptation to abandon the astounding voyage came Robin's way, from polluted water tanks, smashed cabin top and collapsed boom to lost self-steering gear and sheered off tiller, and all before the tiny ketch had fought her way to Cape Horn, the point of no return, the fearsome test of any seaman's nerve and determination.A World of My Own is Robin's gripping, uninhibited, moving account of one of the greatest sea adventures of our time. An instant bestseller, it is now reissued for a new generation of readers to be enthralled and inspired.

A collection of distilled wisdom, acute observation and fascinating anecdotes from one of Britain’s greatest living sailors.

This logbook is not only a convenient place to keep all the specific notes that need constant referral during a long voyage, but also a sailing record of the boat, ports visited, interesting sights, and people invited aboard. This revised edition includes new material relating to the advent of GMDSS.

On 14th June 1968 Robin Knox-Johnston set sail from Falmouth to take part in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race - the first, non-stop, single-handed sailing race around the world. He was an unknown 29-year old Merchant Navy Officer. Ten and a half months later he sailed back into Falmouth, the only finisher in the race and the first man to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation. Since then he has had an illustrious sailing career, with 3 further circumnavigations, including the fastest circumnavigation and last racing solo round the world in 2007, aged 68. Few people have sailed as many miles as Robin. Now, 50 years since setting out on the Golden Globe Race, you can benefit from Robin's wealth of experience as he shares his thoughts on seamanship and seafaring in this new book, selected from his most provoking, insightful and perceptive writing from the pages of Yachting World magazine. The first half of the book concentrates on seamanship and looks at the skills and gear required. The second half allows Robin to reminisce on memorable boats, races and places he has experienced in his last 50 years of seafaring. The book starts with an original piece by Robin reflecting on the last 50 years.

When leadingmountaineer Sir Chris Bonington was researching Quest for Adventure,his study of post-war adventure, he contacted Sir Robin Knox-Johnston,the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world, for aninterview. This simple request turned into an exchange of skills, which thengrew into a joint expedition to Greenland’s unexplored Lemon Mountains. Sea,Ice and Rock is the story of this epic journey. With both Boningtonand Knox-Johnston having little experience in the other’s craft, their expeditionwas not without difficulty. But through one another’s support, the two men andtheir team sailed from Britain to Greenland, going on to twice attempt the LemonMountain’s forbidding highest peak, the Cathedral. Though theirattempts ended in a dramatic descent, this could not dampen the unfailingoptimism with which the two approached their task. They recount their experiencesnot only with appreciation for the awe-inspiring nature that surrounded them,but also for one another. Layers ofalternate narration between Bonington and Knox-Johnston make thisa truly collaborative memoir. In the same way they exchanged skills on theirexpedition, the two authors rely on one another’s recollections to fill thegaps in their own. Full of ambition and perseverance, anyone wondering whyBonington and Knox-Johnston are masters in their fields need onlyread Sea, Ice and Rock.