The Romantic Challenge

There was in Sir Francis Chichester a restless spirit never satisfied with his achievements. Throughout his adventurous life this quiet Englishman has sought to challenge odds that other younger stronger men declared insuperable. As a pilot as a yachtsman as a navigator even as a man who broke the grip of cancer Sir Francis was always a pioneer. Where he led others followed: but when he triumphed he at once sought a new and greater challenge.This is a book about such a challenge. With the feasibility of long-distance voyages proven beyond doubt - not least by his own remarkable circumnavigation in 1966 - Sir Francis turned at once to the next great barrier facing the single-hander the 'speed barrier' setting himself the staggering target of sailing 4000 miles between two fixed points on the earth's surface in 20 days - an average of 200 miles a day whatever the wind whatever the weather.<i>The Romantic Challenge</i> tells of the planning the calculations and the sheer hard work that in January 1971 led him and <i>Gipsy Moth V</i> to their 'starting line' for a race which is the single-hander's '4-Minute Mile' and Marathon combined in one gruelling non-stop murderous ocean race.