''British Steel'' is a 59 ft (18 m)

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fr ...

famous for a

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Mage ...

of the globe "the wrong way" (i.e. from east to west, against prevailing winds and currents) by

Chay Blyth Sir Charles Blyth (born 14 May 1940), known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail single-handed non-stop westwards around the world (1971), on a 59-foot boat called '' British Steel''. Early life B ...

in 1970/71. The entire race was completed in 292 days. Described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' as "The most outstanding passage ever made by one man alone", under the headline "Boat of Steel - Man of Iron", the feat inspired two generations of ocean voyagers and adventurers, forming the basis of the 1992 British Steel Challenge and the subsequent BT Global Challenges. ''British Steel'' is currently moored in Dartmouth, Devon and undergoing restoration.

History

''British Steel'' was designed by Devon-based naval architect Robert Clark, and built in 1970 by Phillip and Son, at Noss, on the

River Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...

. Launched on 19 August of that year, after a record build time of four months, ''British Steel'' was described by Don Holme in his book ''The Circumnavigators'' as representing the absolute pinnacle of modern yacht design and construction at the time, particularly with regard to the use of steel in the building of her hull. It was primarily for this reason, when approached by the erstwhile adventurer and "publicity-yachtist" Chay Blyth, then state-owned

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(later Corus) agreed to sponsor his plan. Purpose-built to achieve what was widely regarded as impossible, the design and construction of ''British Steel'' cost £20,000. Boasting state-of-the-art electronics, she also featured a host of other innovative features to complete her voyage single-handed.

External links

''British Steel'' website (archived)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:British Steel (Yacht) Individual sailing vessels 1970s sailing yachts Sailing yachts built in the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1976