This
is the story of Web Chilles sailing single handed around the world via Cape
Horn. He set sail from San Diego,
California on November 2, 1974 on Egregious, an Ericson 37 fiberglass cutter
with “no engine, no head – other than a bucket, no through hull fittings below
the waterline, no lifelines or pulpits, and no electrical system. Only kerosene
lamps illuminate her cabin, which is conventional in layout…”. He planned to
sail non-stop in 200 days carrying 1,500 pounds of supplies: “500 pounds for
food, 1,000 for 25 gallons of kerosene, and 85 gallons of water.”
By
day 19 he experienced standing rigging problems that would not allow him to
continue South-East to Cape Horn and he headed instead downwind North-West to
Tahiti some 2,000 miles off course. The keel stepped mast was supported
athwartships with through bolts that ended up sawing through the mast in what
appears to have been some design (or mast tuning) fault. He also faced problems
with a deteriorating water ingress that had him bail the bilges with a bucket at
increasingly frequent intervals, a grinding rudder post and some failing mast
tangs. He reached Papeete Harbor on Day 34, December 5. He effected the
necessary repairs and departed Tahiti on day 36, December 24, almost recking Egregious
on the coral reef because of crossing the tidal harbor pass in very low wind.
He continued to be haunted by breakages of the steering vane, sail tears, and
failures of the repaired standing rigging. By day 54, January 11, he decided he
could not carry on and should sail back to San Diego, more than 4000 miles to
the North-East. Egregious kept deteriorating with breakages but he managed to
return to San Diego on day 108, March 6, 1975.
He
repaired and strengthened Egregious and set sail again on day 109, October 19,
1975. But on day 139, November 17, after crossing the equator, he discovered,
that the cause of the increasing water ingress was not a leaky rudder post but
rather a crack in the hull at the trailing edge of the keel. On day 163,
December 11, he went past Diego Ramirez islands at Cape Horn. Albeit a few
knockdowns and capsizes, in many storms, plenty of breakages, increasing water
ingress, and bodily injuries he did not stop for repairs until derelict, on day
259, March 16, in Auckland, New Zeland.
During
his trip he discovered the qualities essential for a solo sailor:
1.
“…he must be literate. If I did not
read, it would be impossible for me to be alone for hundreds of days at sea…”
2.
“He must have an intense tolerance for
inconvenience. The level of comfort and cleanliness aboard a small sailboat on
a long voyage is not quite equal to that of the average cave dweller of
Paleolithic days.”
3.
“He must heal well. Scrapes, gouges,
bruises, cuts, sprains and occasionally burns appear as if miraculously, often
without my knowing their cause; …”.
He
defined himself as a sailor, writer, voluptuary and ascetic.
He
set sail again on day 260, May 7, 1975. He reached Papeete, Tahiti on day 279
and San Diego on day 312, having covered a total of 38,000 miles.
You
can read more about Web Chilles and his adventures on https://www.inthepresentsea.com/the_actual_site/introduction.html
