Route du Rhum - Sir Robin Knox-Johnston after rivals

by Marina Thomas on 11 Nov 2014 Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 75, has been chasing the leading boats in his Rhum class on the first week of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe race.

The British Clipper Race founder and first man to sail solo, nonstop round the world in 1968/9 is currently in sixth place on his Open 60 Grey Power. He has caught up from 14th position since setting off from Saint-Malo, France, last Sunday on the 3,542 mile Transatlantic contest.

Five boats in the class are fighting for the third Rhum class podium place, with Sir Robin currently 10 miles behind fifth-placed rival, Jean-Paul Froc on Groupe Berto.

Sir Robin, the oldest competitor in the race, is relishing his return to solo ocean racing and says it is very satisfying to be moving up the rankings after a cautious start.

'I have been enjoying the race immensely. I am watching the other boats in front very carefully. I’m after them. I want to beat them.

'The first 24 hours were very difficult bashing upwind into a very agitated sea. Some boats didn’t make it. I had a conservative sail plan so I was slow, but I didn't want to damage my boat or myself.

'Since then, things have been more comfortable for the most part and we have been making good speeds reaching since the wind veered late on Saturday,' Sir Robin added.

Sir Robin, a friend of Loick Peyron, the overall Route du Rhum winner who finished the course on Monday morning in record-breaking time, sent his congratulations to the French sailor from Grey Power.

'Records are there to be broken, but his new record time, with such a huge machine that is Banque Populaire VII, is incredible. It has my congratulations and admiration,' he added.

Despite his good speed, Sir Robin has work to do today after the peak lashings broke on his jib and it went over the side.

'After an hour of struggling, the sail is back on board and appears undamaged. I will see what, if anything can be done to get it re-hoisted. The fact that it is on a roller furler adds to the difficulties. That is my strong off wind sail and we are noticing its loss already with a big drop in speed. The staysail just is not large enough for this work.'

Sir Robin is racing 32 years after last competing in the French classic when he finished in 14th place.

He is racing in the same boat he sailed round the world in during the 2006/7 Velux Five Oceans Race aged 68.

He has made a return to competitive ocean racing after becoming jealous of watching his Clipper Race crews setting off at the start of each new leg during their circumnavigation and wishing he was racing himself.

Sir Robin created the Clipper Race to provide a platform for non-professional sailors to experience the thrill of ocean racing and for many, a circumnavigation. The biennial event has inspired more than 3,000 people to compete in what is now the longest ocean race around the planet at more than 40,000 miles since it was established in 1996.

Sir Robin is the only British sailor to have won ‘Yachtsman of the Year’ three times. He has sailed around the world four times, twice solo, including the Golden Globe historic circumnavigation in 1968/69, and once winning the Jules Verne Trophy in 1994.