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Sir Robin is now on the second leg

Sir Robin: Race Diary

Thursday 22 February

Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is back in the Velux 5 Oceans Race, after stopping for emergency repairs in Argentina.

Sir Robin is set to pass by the Falkland Islands, after repairs to his yacht, Saga Insurance.

He is 5th out of five on the 2nd leg of the single-handed, round-the-world race.

However, he has his eyes set on 4th position, as New Zealander Graham Dalton has had to put in for repairs at Port Stanley - some 140 miles ahead of Sir Robin. 

Monday 19 February

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is on his way into Ushuaia for urgent repairs to his yacht, Saga Insurance.

Sir Robin successfully rounded Cape Horn, despite several problems with the yacht.

The vessel is now under tow en route to Ushuaia, Argentina - the most southerly city in the world.

Members of Sir Robin's team have flown out with parts, to carry out repairs to the mainsail and weather equipment.

Sir Robin, who lives near Ipplepen in South Devon, is 5th on leg two of the Velux 5 Oceans Race.

It's hoped that the repairs will enable Sir Robin to race more competitively in the remaining 7,000 miles of the solo, round-the-world race.

Monday 12 February

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is being hampered by yet more technical problems, on leg 2 of the Velux 5 Oceans Race.

Sir Robin, who is lying 4th on this leg, has no weather forecasting system again, so is sailing 'blind.'

The Velux fleet set off from Fremantle

He said: "I have no weather at all. I have lost the New Zealand maritime forecast and there's nothing to replace it.

"I haven't had a forecast now for 30 hours, so I am really out of touch."

It's the latest technical blip to affect his yacht, Saga Insurance, which is being buffeted by winds of 28 knots and relentless rain squalls.

However, in a canny move, Sir Robin, from South Devon, is keeping close to Spain's Unai Basurko on Pakea in 3rd place.

"I don't want to get too far from him because he will be picking the right weather and if I am close to him I'll get the same."

Meanwhile, Saga Insurance is still having problems with a broken headcar that holds the top of the mainsail into a track on the rear of the mast.

Swiss sailor Bernard Stamm, who won the 1st leg, is also leading the 2nd leg of the single-handed, round-the-world race.

Wednesday 7 February

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has suffered more bad luck on the second leg of the Velux 5 Oceans Race.

On day 24 of the second leg out of Fremantle, he reports that his yacht, Saga Insurance, has sustained some damage.

The headboard car attaching the top of the mainsail to the mast track on Saga Insurance has broken. This vital component allows the sail to slide up and down the mainsail track fixed to the trailing edge of the mast.

Sir Robin - who lives in South Devon - has managed a quick fix, but is struggling with reduced sail which means he is slipping back.

He's in 5th place out of five, but is fighting to keep in touch with Unai Basurko and Graham Dalton.

Monday 5 February

After a calm few days, Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is preparing for the going to get tougher in the days ahead.

"The past few days have been pleasant, but now the next gale is almost on us according to the New Zealand forecast," he said.

Sir Robin, on board Saga Insurance, is in 5th place on leg 2 of the Velux 5 Oceans Race, but it vying with Unai Basurko and Graham Dalton.

Under repair in Fremantle. (onEdition)

"The three of us close together have not moved much relatively in the last 24 hours," said Sir Robin.

"The sea is grey, there are only occasional glimpses of blue in the sky or shafts of sunlight, and the squalls are all over the place, dark and menacing."

Tuesday 30 January

There was good news and bad news for Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on day 17 of the second leg of the Velux 5 Oceans Race.

Sir Robin has moved up into 4th place on the second leg - but his yacht, Saga Insurance, has lost one of its two rife-rafts.

The raft was lost during stormy conditions.

Meanwhile, Sir Robin now has his sights set on catching New Zealander Graham Dalton, who is in third spot on this leg of the race, which began in Fremantle, Australia.

Monday 29 January

It's day 16 on the second leg of the Velux 5 Oceans Race, and Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is still battling with the weather and technical problems.

Sir Robin, from Ipplepen, is struggling with his meteorological equipment, which is holding him back.

"The Aussie weather text said strong south-west air stream almost on us, so got ready and what does the wind do? Goes south-east!

"I'm very much like a blindfolded man trying to box, I have no real idea of what wind is doing in detail which is so vital for racing Saga Insurance, so I am losing out in a big way on the others."

Sir Robin sailing into Fremantle (onEdit

Sir Robin is 5th out of five racers on the second leg from Fremantle, Australia, but is close on the heels of 4th-placed Unai Basurko.

The race is led by Swiss sailor, Bernard Stamm.

Wednesday 24 January

Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston remains in 5th place on the second leg of the Velux 5 Oceans Race.

Sir Robin is 44 miles behind Spaniard Unai Basurko, but is again struggling with equipment on board his yacht, Saga Insurance.

Hampered by electronics issues and receiving no meteorological data, it means that his progress is being constantly monitored: "We are dodging all over the place on wind shifts because I can no longer download the detailed weather," he said.

"The autopilots use a lot more power in this large swell and these sea conditions so the discovery of further problems on board have come at a difficult time.

"Also, I do not seem to be receiving the fleet positions properly, so have no idea where the others are since yesterday," he added.

Monday 22 January

After a delayed start in Leg 2 of the Velux 5 Oceans race, Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is making headway on his nearest rival.

Over the weekend Knox-Johnston gained 80 miles on fourth placed Unai Basurko and is now just 108 miles behind the Spaniard.

Friday 19 January

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has rounded Cape Leeuwin, the south-western corner of Australia.

His Open 60, Saga Insurance, lies in fifth place 190 miles behind Unai Basurko and Pakea in fourth position.

With 14,200 miles to sail in Leg 2 of the Velux 5 Oceans, Knox-Johnston is 1,000 miles behind race leader, Bernard Stamm.

Wednesday 17 January

Veteran yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is back in the Velux 5 Oceans around the world race after returning to Australia for urgent repairs to his navigation gear. 

Sir Robin re-joined the fleet late on Tuesday 16 January having completed autopilot repairs and modifications to his weather software.

Under the race rules a 48-hour penalty was imposed after he was forced to seek assistance just 24 hours after setting out from Fremantle, Australia on Leg 2 of the contest. 

In an e-mail from his yacht Saga Insurance, Sir Robin said: "I won't be bashing at this stage, there is no point in getting any damage now. I can wait until the wind frees us.

Planning the repairs. Photo: onEdition

"We have lost 65 hours, but in a leg of 14,500 miles there is plenty of time to catch the others."

Race leader Bernard Stamm on Cheminées Poujoulat has a 776 miles lead over Britain's sailing veteran and Knox-Johnston has the Basque sailor, Unai Basurko on Pakea as his primary target.

"Bernard Stamm is off and away, Koji is in hot pursuit, Unai seems to be taking things easily and he is my first objective," he wrote.

Knox-Johnston is pragmatic about restarting at the back of the fleet, but is aware that isolation from the other boats is not an option in the brutal conditions ahead in Leg 2.

"I am not worried about starting this far behind the others. There is a safety issue of course, where we are going there will be no other source of support except from another contestant, but 38 years ago no one even knew where I was for four and a half months, so with modern communications we can all be in touch."

Monday 15 January

Veteran Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has been forced to turn back to Australia in the Velux 5 Oceans round the world race.

Less than 24 hours after setting off on the second leg of the race from Fremantle, Sir Robin's boat Saga Insurance suffered autopilot problems.

His team says they will set sail again on Wednesday after repairs have been made.

After tussling with defending champion and race leader Bernard Stamm to be first across the start line at 15:00 local time on Sunday 14 January, Sir Robin headed west with the fleet.

However, during the night both the autopilot systems on Saga Insurance failed and refused to re-start.

After assessing the problem onboard throughout the night, the British sailing legend took the difficult decision to head back to Fremantle and meet his shore team back on land.

"The first time it went was at 11pm on Sunday night and then it went at hourly intervals causing a lot of problems," said the 67-year-old.

"By three in the morning both autopilots had failed. I thought, this is crazy, I can't go on without good automatic pilots - so I turned round because it has got to be fixed.

"The wiring to the autopilots wasn't big enough to take the power. It was like pushing lots of water through a tiny pipe.

"It was the right call coming back. Better now rather than a week's time."

Sir Robin will have to comply with the minimum 48 hour time penalty for receiving outside assistance, putting him well behind the fleet from the off.

Friday 12 January

With a treacherous 7,000 mile voyage ahead of him, Devon yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is making final preparations for the second leg of the Velux 5 Oceans single handed race. 

Sir Robin's yacht Saga Insurance is back in the water at the Fremantle Sailing Club, where the surviving fleet of five boats are preparing for the next leg to Norfolk, Virginia.

The damage from a fishing line, which cut right into the bottom of the keel during the first leg, has been repaired as have the torn sails and faulty electronics.

The entire first leg was dogged by problems on board, but Sir Robin is confident the boat is now in better shape than when it left Bilbao at the start of race.

"We've done a tremendous amount of work here, we've tackled everything," explained Sir Robin.

"New instruments have gone on, we've got the sails sorted out and new battens.

"We have removed all extraneous wiring, as we are convinced that our problems with the instruments and autopilots came from corruption from another source.

"This new equipment now just requires calibration. We think we have also traced the cause of leaking into the sail locker, but need to test it.

"We've gone through all the systems and quite honestly I'm going to be almost ready to race when I leave here which is unlike leaving Bilbao."

Sir Robin admits he isn't looking forward to the challenge ahead of him. The second leg of the Velux 5 Oceans takes the fleet around Cape Horn on a 14,500 mile sprint from Fremantle to Norfolk, Virginia in the United States.

Cape Horn has been a feared by seafarers for centuries and for good reason. The Southern Ocean weather systems can be treacherous with fierce winds, ice and waves as high as 100ft.

"This next leg is the tough one, 7,000 miles from Fremantle to Cape Horn that's the real big thing to deal with," said Sir Robin.

"We'll meet the biggest seas and strongest winds and possibly ice, although none of us want to.

"The race organisers are preventing us from going too far south, which is sensible. I think we all realise this is where things could go wrong and we'll all breathe a huge sigh of relief when Cape Horn bears west."

Sir Robin has spent time resting and relaxing during the stop-over and is now replenishing supplies on board for the long voyage ahead.

"I've managed to replenish everything and by that I mean everything. We've even managed to find Gentleman's Relish from Fornums in Perth.

"The main thing is I've now received 38 bottles of whisky which have been sent by friends and other people which is sweet of them. I won't drink anything like that between here and Norfolk - but it means we can have a party when we get there.

"I'd just like to say thank you to all my friends back in Devon. I will do my best to do a little better this time so they can feel a little prouder."

28 DECEMBER 2006

Veteran Devon yachstman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston has completed the first leg of the Velux 5 Oceans race on board his yacht Saga Insurance.

THE BACKGROUND

The race began from Bilbao, Spain, on Sunday, 22nd October with eight skippers.

In 1969 Sir Robin became the first person to sail non-stop around the world alone, and at 67 he is the oldest participant in the Velux 5 Oceans.

He was 30 when he took 312 days to circumnavigate the world in his 32ft wooden yacht Suhaili in the Sunday Times Golden Globe race. He was the only competitor to finish.