Posted by RichardG on February 10, 2005 at 11:32:27 from 213.86.133.215 user RichardG.
In Reply to: Ellen MacArthur - A contemporary Nancy Blackett? posted by Jock on February 08, 2005 at 19:17:28:
Ellen's achievement is terrific. However, what puzzles me is, when did sailing south down the Atlantic Ocean, rounding Antarctica, and north up the Atlantic Ocean, become accepted as "sailing round the world" ? I seem to recall that when the early explorers, such as Francis Drake, sailed round the world they rounded Cape Horn and went a long way north into the Pacific before crossing to the East Indies, across the Indian Ocean, round the Cape of Good Hope and then back up the Atlantic. While I am not sure where the Pacific and Indian Oceans become the Great Southern Ocean, Ellen's route arguably omits them entirely. My definition of sailing round the world would involve sailing north up the west coast of South America as far as the Equator before crossing the Pacific, and likewise returning to the Equator to cross the Indian Ocean after rounding Indo-China.
This in no way belittles Ellen's achievement - the route she sailed is the one that seems to be accepted for record purposes, and she duly broke the record for that route - but, who defined that as being the accepted route for record purposes ? And indeed, the English Channel as the Start/Finish line ? After all, for a native of San Francisco, sailing round the world could start and finish at the Golden Gate and consist of sailing down the Pacific before rounding Antarctica and returning up the Pacific again without going anywhere near the North Atlantic.
What does anyone else think ?