Sir Francis Charles Chichester

Sir Francis Charles Chichester (17 September 1901 – 26 August 1972) was a pioneering British aviator who became the first person to sail solo around the globe via the three great Capes with just one stop in 1966–67 for which he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

In 1960, he entered and won the first Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in the 40ft (12.2m) yawl Gipsy Moth III. He came second in the second race four years later behind Eric Tabarly.

Chichester set out from Plymouth on 27 August 1966 sailed his ketch Gipsy Moth IV and returned after 226 days of sailing on 28 May 1967 to become the first person to achieve a true circumnavigation from West to East via the 3 Great Capes, stopping only in Sydney, Australia. The voyage was also a race against the clock, with Chichester attempting to beat the typical times achieved by the fastest fully crewed clipper ships during the heyday of commercial sail. His global voyage was the first to be commercially sponsored, with the International Wool Secretariat’s Woolmark logo on the bows and his baseball cap.

He was also supported by The Sunday Times newspaper, and the public interest this achieved led to the newspaper sponsoring the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968/9 – the precursor to the current Golden Globe Race.