'Charity' Circumnavigation Passes Halfway Mark
With damaged rigging, Tasmanian yachtsman Ken Gourlay passed the halfway mark on his 23,000-nautical-mile circumnavigation of the globe on February 1After three months of solo, non-stop sailing, the immediate past commodore of the Tamar Yacht Club, Launceston, is technically heading home after passing the island of St Helena and logging 11,500 nautical miles.
In his 12.5m yacht, the 51-year-old businessman is attempting to become the first Tasmanian to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation.
Gourlay began his quest off Devonport’s Mersey Bluff in Bass Strait on November 6 and has since dodged icebergs off New Zealand and survived a storm off the Falkland Islands.
His voyage is expected to be completed in April or May. He is sailing for a number of other firsts: oldest Australian solo, non-stop circumnavigator; fastest Australian solo, non-stop circumnavigator; highest charity fundraiser by an Australian circumnavigator.
His voyage is a major fundraiser for the Launceston-based Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust. The charity is hoping to raise $100,000 to fund research into eyesight disorders and diseases in children.
His website, www.spiritsoloquest.com, provides daily reports of his progress.
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