In 1960 Francis Chichester won the first solo transatlantic yacht race in 40 days.
On 28 May 1967 in the yacht Gipsy Moth IV he became the first man to race solo round the world with only one port of call (Sydney). The first solo circumnavigation had been completed by Joshua Slocum in the 1890s but he had numerous stops and had taken 3 years. Chichester completed the circumnavigation in 226 sailing days.
The commemorative stamp was issued 24 July 1967.
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| Sir Francis Chichester's World Voyage |
Francis Chichester was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, also in July 1967, using the same sword used by Elizabeth I to knight another Francis - Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman with his crew to complete a circumnavigation of the world.
I could have chosen stamps from 13 different countries for this week's theme, but thought Gipsy Moth IV and Chichester, of course, deserved a post of their own.
To see what other ships have been chosen sail across to Sunday-stamps-93
13 comments:
great stamp and great blog.
Ah, that's interesting. I had never heard of the Gipsy Moth IV, but Lisa B also chose a FDC featuring this stamp to share this week. Thanks for the background.
Most people fancy the sailboat while my heart beats for the tug boats....I once went to a convention of old tug boats here and we even got to ride on a few, it was an amazing afternoon! And there were even a few dogs about too! Double fun! Is this the Gipsy or the Gypsy, I know youtube has a way of not spelling things correctly...thanks Bob I enjoyed this Sunday stamp post!
It is a beautiful stamp.
I remember Sir Francis Chichester's voyage, though not very clearly. I met his grandson later, who didn't seem at all interested in sailing.
What a brave man, this Sir Francis. Thank you for the information on this. And thank you for participating.
I wondered whether we may be overlapping with GB stamps on this week's theme, but there are so many to choose from. I would think that as this Gypsy Moth stamp was a high value, there probably weren't that many used, unless everyone sending packages made a point of getting them.
Not my idea of fun. The stamp makes the boat look like it is about to capsize.
Yup. I remember that and the return of Gypsy Moth IV. I was still in the UK at that time. Quite an achievement at the time.
I think he was a little crazy. but that's just me.
I didn't know there are so many issues of stamps featuring ships.
My Sunday Stamps#40: Ships
Absolutely it deserves a post of its own, especially with such a lovely stamp. Oh dear I remember it well.
Incredible navigator, I remember the excitement of his return. The stamp captures a small boat on big seas perfectly.
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