Michael William Dugdale Mills Richey
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(6 July 1917 – 22 December 2009) was an English sailor and navigator, and an author and editor of books and journals about
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
. His first publication, an article about his experiences in a shipwreck, was awarded the first
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and publis ...
in 1942.
Richey was known as a passionate sailor and regular participant at the
Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR) organised every four years by the
Royal Western Yacht Club of England. He started in each of these races between 1968 and 1996 with his small yacht ''Jester''. Finishing his last competition in 1996 at the age of 80 he achieved an entry in the ''
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the oldest man to cross the Atlantic as a solo sailor.
Life
Michael Richey was born at
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
,
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, in 1917 as the second son of George and Adelaide Richey, one year after his brother Paul (1916–1989). After leaving school in 1935 at
Downside School
Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey.
Originall ...
, a Catholic boarding school of the Benedictine
Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both t ...
, Richey first planned to become a monk. Richey indeed spent a short time at the Trappist monastery on
Caldey Island
Caldey Island ( Welsh:''Ynys Bŷr'') is a small island near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, less than off the coast. With a recorded history going back over 1,500 years, it is one of the holy islands of Britain. A number of traditions inherited f ...
, but did not pursue this intention. Instead, the following three years he lived and worked in the Catholic artist's community of the sculptor
Eric Gill
Arthur Eric Rowton Gill, (22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was an English sculptor, letter cutter, typeface designer, and printmaker. Although the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' describes Gill as ″the greatest artist-cra ...
at
Speen near
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...
.
At the outbreak of World War II, Richey volunteered, despite his pacifist stance, for military service in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. Richey first served on a minesweeper of the
Royal Naval Patrol Service
The Royal Naval Patrol Service (RNPS) was a branch of the Royal Navy active during both the First and Second World Wars. The RNPS operated many small auxiliary vessels such as naval trawlers for anti-submarine and minesweeping operations to pro ...
, HMS ''Goodwill''. After the sinking of the ship because of a bombardment by German torpedoes, Richey processed the existential experience of life risk in a short story, entitled "Sunk by a mine, a Survivor's Story". The war censorship in Britain prohibited the publication of this narrative, but it was published in the magazine of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 1941 and from there it moved back to the UK, where in 1942 this story was awarded the first
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and publis ...
for young writers. Any literary appreciation for Richey, however, did not materialize, and he himself had no literary ambitions later.
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
Library (no author stated, probably by Nicholas Scheetz):
The Michael Richey Papers, Biographical note
'; retrieved 28 October 2018. Only to celebrate his 80th birthday in 1997 was another literary work by Richey, entitled "A taste of the Antarctic", published and privately printed by Nicholas Scheetz. These are travel records Richey wrote in 1943 as navigation assistant on the auxiliary cruiser on a ride in the South Atlantic.
[
In further missions on various ships of the British Navy and the ]Free French Naval Forces
The Free French Naval Forces (french: Forces Navales Françaises Libres, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier.
History
In the wake of the Armistice a ...
Richey increasingly acquired experience as a navigator, and finally completed a training as navigation specialist at the Royal Navy's Maritime Warfare School . After the war he established the newly created Royal Institute of Navigation
The Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) is a learned society and a professional body for navigation. The RIN was founded in 1947 as a forum for mariners, pilots, engineers and academics to compare their experiences and exchange information. Toda ...
(RIN) in London, which he served as managing director (initially entitled "Chief Secretary", later "Director") from 1947 up to the end of his professional career in 1982. In 1948 Richey founded the Journal of Navigation, which he headed as editor until 1985 and in which appeared most of his own articles on navigation.
Richey died of a heart attack at his home in Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
, at the age of 92.
Sailing
After 1948 Richey started sailing races, initially as a navigator on the boats of others. In 1964 he acquired a small junk rigged boat, a converted Nordic Folkboat
The Nordic Folkboat (Swedish: Nordisk Folkbåt) is a Swedish sailboat that was designed by and Tord Sundén as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1942. Even though Sundén drafted the plans with design ideas provided by Iversen, Sundén was ...
named ''Jester'' from Herbert "Blondie" Hasler, the co-founder of the OSTAR competition. With this boat, Richey henceforth "succeeded" in an unusual manner as a solo sailor. The previous owner Hasler had already participated with ''Jester'' on the first two OSTAR races in 1960 and 1964 from Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
in southern England to the eastern coast of the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, still with the intention of winning the race.
Richey continued these trips, even if he – not participating in the increasing mechanization and professionalisation of the sport – never had a chance to win the OSTAR race. On the contrary, he failed on the way (three of his eight Regatta participations) or he reached the destination at Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
several weeks later than the winning boat, being the last or second last of the starting field. However, by Richey's Atlantic crossings ''Jester'' became "something of a national sailing symbol in Britain".
Two problematic accidents could not keep him away from participating in the OSTAR race. On the return journey from the US coast in 1986 Richey came into a heavy storm, but was saved along with the boat. In the following OSTAR Regatta 1988, ''Jester'' was so badly damaged in a storm that Richey finally had to abandon the boat. He commented the loss as follows: "For me, it was an occasion of immeasurable sadness which I found great difficulty getting over".
Richey's friends subsequently collected money in order to provide a replica true to the original, and with this new ''Jester'' he took part in the following two races in 1992 and in 1996, finishing again as last participant within the time limit. After his last arrival in England – on the way back in 1997 Richey celebrated his 80th birthday – he still had an achievement to celebrate with ''Jester'', gaining a certificate of entry in the ''Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the oldest man to cross the Atlantic alone in a boat.
Richey participated at the OSTAR regattas in unbroken succession from 1968 to 1996. In eight appearances with his small yacht ''Jester'', he is still (as of 2016) the sailor with the second most competition participations. A single other sailor surpassed him: Peter Crowther
Peter Crowther (born 4 July 1949) is a British journalist, short story writer, novelist, editor, publisher and anthologist. He is a founder (with Simon Conway) of PS Publishing. He edits a series of themed anthologies of science fiction short ...
participated in 2013 for the ninth time and thus became the sole record holder.
Placements in the OSTAR regattas 1968–1996
Richey's rankings, eight OSTAR-participations with ''Jester'':
* 1968: 18th place – 18 of 35 participants started in Plymouth and reached the port of destination in Newport
* 1972: 39th place – 40 of 55 participants reached the destination in time (furthermore 3 boats outside time limit)
* 1976: Retiring from race after start, instead Trip to Ireland – 73 of 125 participants reached the destination in time (furthermore 5 boats outside time limit)
* 1980: unranked, arrival at destination outside time limit – 72 of 90 participants reached the destination in time (furthermore 2 boats outside time limit)
* 1984: Retiring from race at Halifax after damage to sail – 64 of 91 participants reached the destination in time
* 1988: Retiring from race, loss of ''Jester'' in rough weather – 73 of 95 participants reached the destination in time
* 1992: 54th place – 54 of 76 participants reached the destination in time
* 1996: 42nd place – 42 of 53 participants reached the destination in time
Awards
* 1942 – John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and publis ...
for "Sunk by a Mine. A Survivor's Story."
* 1979 – Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of Navigation
The Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN) is a learned society and a professional body for navigation. The RIN was founded in 1947 as a forum for mariners, pilots, engineers and academics to compare their experiences and exchange information. Toda ...
* 1986 – Seamanship Medal of the Royal Cruising Club
The Royal Cruising Club (RCC) is a British yacht club founded in London in 1880 to support leisure sailing. It is most widely known for the series of pilotage books produces under the auspices of the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation, a ...
* 1993 – Award of Merit of the Ocean Cruising Club'
* 2000 – Appointed Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Navigation (ION)
* 2003 – Necho Award of the International Association of Institutes of Navigation (IAIN)
Publications
* ''Sunk by a Mine. A Survivor's Story.'' The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, Section Magazine, Page SM5, 11 May 1941
Sunk by a Mine
' (restricted access); retrieved 28 October 2018.
** Reprinted by the Australian weekly The Western Mail (Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
), 28 August 1941, p 3 and p 71
digitised at the National Library of Australia
retrieved 28 October 2018.)
* with E. G. R. Taylor: ''The Geometrical Seaman. A book of early nautical instruments.'' Hollis & Carter, London 1962
* as editor: ''The Shell Encyclopedia of Sailing''. Stanford Maritime, London 1980,
** also as: ''The Sailing Encyclopedia''. Lippincott & Crowell, New York 1980,
* ''A taste of the Antarctic''. Introduction by Libby Purves
Elizabeth Mary Purves, (born 2 February 1950) is a British radio presenter, journalist and author.
Early life and career
Born in London, a diplomat's daughter, Purves was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and educated at convent school ...
. Yonno Press, Williamston NC 1997 (travel records from 1943, privately printed, ordered by Nicholas Scheetz on the occasion of Richey's 80th, an edition of 80 copies)[catalog entry, Richey, Michael W.: A taste of the Antarctic]
at Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
Library; retrieved 28 October 2018.
Richey regularly had articles published in the ''Journal of Navigation'' about sailing experiences with ''Jester''; the following article on his serious accident in 1986 may stand as an example:
* ''Jester’s ultimate Storm'', Journal of Navigation 40/02, May 1987, pp 149-157, . Published online at jesterinfo.org: .
References
Further reading
* Herb McCormick: ''Last but not Least''. ''Cruising World
Cruising may refer to:
* Cruising, on a cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various port ...
'' 23/2, February 1997, pp 28–36
digitized version online
retrieved 28 October 2018.)
* ''Death of solo sailing legend'' (no author stated). ''Yachting Monthly
''Yachting Monthly'' is a monthly magazine about yachting published by Future PLC. It is edited by Theo Stocker. History and profile
At its launch in 1906, from the offices of The Field, ''The Manchester Guardian'' reviewed the first issue descr ...
'' 12/2009
Online-archive, 24 December 2009
retrieved 28 October 2018).
* Jim Flannery: ''Gentleman sailor, master navigator''. '' Soundings'' 3/2010,
Online, 5 March 2010
retrieved 28 October 2018).
External links
* Collection of correspondence archived at Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
Library, Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
:
**
The Michael Richey Papers
', Booth Family Special Collections Research Center; retrieved 28 October 2018.
**
The Michael Richey Papers Part 2
', Booth Family Special Collections Research Center; retrieved 28 October 2018.
* Graham Cox:
JRA Hall of Fame. Mike Richey (1917-2009).
' junkrigassociation.org; retrieved 28 October 2018.
* William Sisson:
Sailing alone, but never lonely
'. soundingsonline.com, 12 January 2010; retrieved 28 October 2018.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richey, Michael
1917 births
2009 deaths
Members of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century English writers
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners
Maritime writers
Royal Navy officers of World War II
People from Eastbourne
English male sailors (sport)
Single-handed sailors
People educated at Downside School