Circumnavigation
Aboard his 35-foot (11m) Ericson, MK I, Alberg hull design, full keel, fiberglass boat, entitled ''Love Song'', Teddy circumnavigated the earth, making only 12 stops. On February 24, 1986, after years of preparation, and with only a small pocket of money, Seymour began his sailing trip from his home port of St. Croix. He finished his trip exactly where he had started a year and a half later. On June 18, 1992, the ''"Lacking corporate sponsors and media coverage, Seymour's 16-month journey was in every bit a solo effort. 'The easy part was sailing around the world,' said the 51-year-old Seymour in a telephone interview with the Banner. 'I've almost lost my life on many occasions.' 'I've been through Vietnam, I've lived in L.A. where the cops hassled me just because I was a black man running down the street in a sweatsuit.' Born inYonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ..., Seymour attended Central State University inOhio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...on a track scholarship. In 1965, Seymour began a seven-year stint in theUnited States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ..., serving in Vietnam as a captain. After relocating to the Virgin Islands where he took a job as aprimary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...teacher, Seymour began planning his journey. It took seven years of paying off $62,000 in bank loans for the purchase and preparation of his 35-foot sailboat before Seymour left Saint Croix, headed for thePanama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui .... "I worked as a school teacher, a night watchman, a waiter and I chartered my boat," he explained. Restricted by a $5,200 travel budget, $2,000 of which was on a credit card, Seymour limited his stops to 12 ports including several South Pacific Islands, Australia, South Yemen,Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...andGreece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders .... Seymour routed his journey through the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal after he was advised by a U.S. Counsel to stay out ofDurban, South Africa Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ..., where he would have had to stop before passing under the Cape of Good Hope. Unfortunately, the Mediterranean was in the middle of its worst winter in 42 years. Dogged by gales and a damaged navigation system, Seymour made his longest layover in Pilos, Greece, where he waited over 30 days for the repairs and better weather. After a two-month 2,000-mile (3,200 km) journey, Seymour passed through the Strait of Gibraltar with $38 worth of food and headed for home. Although he was certified by sailing authorities as being the 161st person to make the circumnavigation solo, he received little mention in the press outside of a few sailing magazines.
World Sailing Records & Awards
The Joshua Slocum Society, theRunning Achievements
Teddy won an athletic scholarship to attend to college, and is a former All-American cross country road runner star at Central State University inExternal links
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Teddy Single-handed circumnavigating sailors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Central State University alumni