Jon Sanders - Sailor extraordinaire
by Jack and Jude 4 Feb 2020 22:48 PST
Jon Sanders aboard Perie Banou II © Paul & Steven Stratfold
Jon completed his first solo circumnavigation in 1975-77, double circumnavigation continuously at sea in 1981-82 west to east via the Southern Ocean and was the first man to circumnavigate Antarctica solo.
In 1986-88 he completed a triple non-stop solo circumnavigation in 658 days at sea and covering 71,022 nautical miles. His only contact with the outside world was electronic communications and some parcels thrown from passing boats. This is recognised in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest distance sailed non-stop by any vessel. He undertook another circumnavigation in 1990-91 and in 2010-12 did his 8th, 2013-15 completed his 9th, and in 2016-17 completed his 10th.
Not one to rest on his laurels, on 3 November 2019, aged 80 (born 1939), he began his 11th solo #NOPLASTICWASTE circumnavigation on Perie Banou II, taking water samples daily which will be analysed by the Curtin University's Western Australian Organic & Isotope Geochemistry Centre to determine the quantity of microplastics in our oceans. Jon's sailing resume is unmatched in the cruising world.
Jon is presently heading nor' west after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, 7,190 Nautical Miles from Western Australia. His tracker: www.clientsat.com.au/jon-sanders-tracking Go you good thing!
This article has been provided by the courtesy of jackandjude.com