Roland Machin, Gateford Hall, Gateford, Worksop, Notts S81 8AE, UK
Telephone and fax: 00 44 (0) 1909 480334 Email:
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Gipsy Moth III
For Sale
The celebrated winner of the first Solo Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) in 1960 when she was in the possession of Sir Francis Chichester.
Dimensions : LOA 12.065 metres (39’ 7” ft)
LWL 8.54 metres (28’ 0” ft)
Beam 3.04 metres (10’ 0” ft)
Draft 1.94 metres (6’ 4” ft)
Regd. Tonnage 11.15 tons
Builder Tyrells of Arklow 1957-1959
Designer Robert Clarke
John Illingworth (Rigging)
Construction Mahogany Planking on Oak frames
¼ inch marine ply decking with West Epoxy covering
Mahogany or ply Brightwork – cockpit covering, covering boards and hatches
She has a deep keel with counter stern and tiller steering
Spars and Rigging Designed by John Illingworth and fitted in 1962 for an Atlantic Time Trial by Sir Francis and to provide easier sail handling for a single-hander in the North Atlantic. The mast is Aluminium by Sparlight, the boom is the original hollow spruce boom which was shortened. It is a Bermudan Cutter rig with twin forestays. There is also an aluminium telescopic pole by Kemp which was acquired in the 1990’s. There are a pair of original bronze headsail winches, a pair of bronze staysail winches and three bronze mast-fitted halyard winches. There is slab reefing of the main, although the original roller reefing gear has been retained.
Sails All by Jeckells of Wroxham, they comprise: Genoa, No 1 Jib and No 2 Jib, new in 2005; the Main, new 2002; Cruising Chute and Snuffer; Trysail, Storm Jib and Staysail.
Equipment CQR Bower Anchor with 30 metres chain
CQR Kedge Anchor with short chain
A complete set of warps, fenders and mooring chains
Comprehensive sheets, blocks, reefing lines and pennants, sail ties etc
Spare alternator and starter motor
Philips GPS and VHF Radio
Sestrel binnacle Compass, serviced 2007
6 man Liferaft
Inflatable Dinghy and Johnson 4hp outboard
Comprehensive canvass and PVC deck, hatch and sail covering and awning
Offers are sought in excess of £75,000
Lying La Rochelle, France
These particulars are believed to be accurate but no guarantee is given, and these particulars form no part of a Contract. Prospective purchasers should satisfy themselves as to the nature and quality of what they are buying. The vendor is not selling in the course of a business and therefore no warranty is given as to the condition of the vessel’s hull, machinery or equipment. An examination by a qualified surveyor is recommended.
Gipsy Moth lll – History
Gipsy Moth lll is a remarkable boat with a remarkable pedigree and is privileged to be recognised and occasionally feted throughout the Western World. Her exploits have been described at length in Chichester’s three books – ‘The Lonely Sea and the Sky’, ‘Alone Across the Atlantic’ and ‘Atlantic Adventure’, as well as in the publications of her competitors and various commentators. A brief history is set out below.
Gipsy Moth lll, the celebrated winner of the first Solo Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) in 1960, earned a unique place in British and international yachting history when Francis Chichester accepted ‘Blondie’ Hasler’s challenge to sail the Atlantic from east to west for a prize of ‘half a crown’.
The race was the beginning of the modern era of long distance single-handed yacht racing and in winning it, and in his subsequent circumnavigation in Gipsy Moth lV in 1967, Sir Francis provided a model and an inspiration for the generation of solo yachtsmen and women who were to follow.
Of the five Gipsy Moths only Gipsy Moth lll and Gipsy Moth lV now survive. The first was a Gipsy Moth aeroplane which Chichester strove to fly solo around the world in 1931, having already achieved the remarkable feat of being the first man to fly solo across the Tasman Sea. The second was an elderly day-sailer which Chichester purchased in 1953 and about which no more is known. Gipsy Moth lV is the famous ketch which carried Sir Francis around the world in 1967/8 and was for many years on display at Greenwich but is now, of course, back afloat and due to return to the UK this summer after an eventful circumnavigation. Gipsy Moth V, in which Sir Francis sailed a timed dash of 4000 miles from Bissau to Nicaragua in 1970 in an endeavour to sail 200 miles per day, was sadly lost during a circumnavigation some while after his death.
Gipsy Moth lll was designed by Robert Clark in 1957 and built by John Tyrell at Arklow in Ireland. Shortly after her construction began Chichester was diagnosed with lung cancer. Work on her was delayed while he experienced a very painful exploratory operation and a remarkable homeopathic cure after surgeons had threatened to remove a lung. Building work then resumed and Gipsy Moth lll was finally launched in September 1959. She is 39’7” overall with a waterline length of 28’, a maximum beam of 10’1 ¾” and draws 6’5”. She was built of mahogany planking on oak frames with deck beams of spruce and a deck of ½” plywood with canvas covering.
Sir Francis won the 1960 OSTAR in forty and a half days racing against Blondie Hasler, Val Howells, David Lewis and Jean Lacombe. The Clarke design provided a sloop rig with a wooden mast of hollow spruce. The rig was modified in 1962 to a design by John Illingworth and she was re-rigged as a mast head cutter with a 50’ high metal alloy mast by Sparlight which survives to this day.
In 1962 Chichester and Gipsy Moth lll crossed the Atlantic again in an individual endeavour to break their 1960 record. The voyage is described in his book ‘Atlantic Adventure’. Gipsy Moth lll was in the public eye again in 1964 when Chichester competed in the second OSTAR. This was an event which endeared both him and the yacht to the French nation when they came second to Eric Tabarly in Pen Duick ll. In this event Tabarly won his spurs, was feted by the French and General De Gaulle, and began his lifelong career as an inspiration to French sailors.
Gipsy Moth lll was sold by Sir Francis in 1965 to allow for his preparation for the circumnavigation and she then passed through a number of hands before she was bought by the present owners in 1991.
In the summer of 1991 she was comprehensively restored at ‘Dickies’ boatyard at Bangor, Gwynedd. Many of the galvanised fastenings, including external chain-plates, had corroded. Oxidisation had caused the mahogany to break down. She also had fractures in her stem and several ribs. The restoration included installation of internal stainless steel chain-plates, replacement of the stem and decayed planking, refastening the planking and renovation of the engine, a British Leyland 35hp 1.5 litre diesel. The yacht was also comprehensively rewired and repainted, and the canvas deck covering was replaced by a West Epoxy system. The standing rigging was completely overhauled and renewed where necessary; the running rigging was replaced, an Aries wind vane was added and a new set of sails was commissioned from Jeckells.
After 1991 she spent a couple of seasons on the Welsh coast. She crossed the Atlantic to the Caribbean in 1993 and returned via Bermuda and the Azores in 1994. She then spent 6 years in the Mediterranean with winter moorings in Villefranche, Venice and Puerto Andraix, participating in the Nioulargue and other classic regattas. In 2000 she returned to the UK to winter at Beaulieu and the following summer circumnavigated the UK. Since 2001 she has been moored at the Musee Maritime in La Rochelle from where she has travelled to compete in classic boat regattas along the French west coast and to cruise in Irish and Spanish waters. She also returned to Plymouth in 2005 for the start of the revived OSTAR.
After a delightful and exciting association with Gipsy Moth lll over the last 17 years the present owners will be very sad to end their friendship with her, and hope that the new owners gain as much enjoyment from her as they have.