1973-74: Portsmouth-Cape Town-Sydney-Rio de Janeiro-Portsmouth
Chapter 3. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Imagine putting yourself through weeks of Southern Ocean torture and making it safely to Cape Horn… only to then find yourself ‘attacked’ by a British warship.
Such was the outlandish fate of Adventure, the British Navy boat, in the first race. On January 23, 1974 HMS Endurance was off Cape Horn watching the yachts round and when Adventure arrived, the decision was made to fire a salute in honour of their fellow servicemen. They were only firing blanks but wadding from one round hit the headsail on Adventure and tore a hole in it.
Chapter 3. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Imagine putting yourself through weeks of Southern Ocean torture and making it safely to Cape Horn… only to then find yourself ‘attacked’ by a British warship.
Such was the outlandish fate of Adventure, the British Navy boat, in the first race. On January 23, 1974 HMS Endurance was off Cape Horn watching the yachts round and when Adventure arrived, the decision was made to fire a salute in honour of their fellow servicemen. They were only firing blanks but wadding from one round hit the headsail on Adventure and tore a hole in it.
Fortunately, it had no major effect and Adventure, participating thanks to a donation of £6,000 form the Royal Naval Sailing Association, went on to finish second overall behind Sayula II.
Certainly, it seems that the more danger faced by the sailros, the more Adventure's particpiation would seem worthwhile – at least to some. An account of the early part of the race, written by an anonymous crewman on Adventure and published in the Naval Review in 1974, puts it like this:
"Life in the Navy has become very much duller since the introduction of modern weapons; work more mechanical and less open to initiative. Management techniques lurk in every IN-tray. Ships become efficient at the expense of excitement. Nowadays runs ashore (for the lucky few) hardly differ between Hong Kong and Hull. There is little fun and not much danger, and the country has been at peace throughout the life-time of most of those in the Service.
"What better way to replace the image of a chairbound and flaccid life with one of seaman-like toughness than to sail around the world - particularly when the race is to be followed by a comprehensive Adventurous Sailing Training programme open to all? How better to blow away the cobwebs of Whitehall, Portsmouth and Faslane?"
How indeed?
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