Atlantic, but fell asleep and lost Marie Therese 2 on the rocks
near Santa Lucia in the Bahamas. Eventually he left for France
where he could earn real money. There he was persuaded to
write his first book, Sailing To The Reefs, which was an instant
success – and married Françoise, the daughter of family friends.
Inspired by his book the naval architect, Jean Knocker,
offered to design his next boat for free and the owner of a local
boiler-making factory offered to build it for the price of the
steel. He named the boat Joshua, in honour of Joshua Slocum.
He and Françoise left Marseille in October 1963 and sailed
to Tahiti where they realised they were running out of time
and had just eight months left to return to their children. So,
Moitessier decided to sail Joshua home via the quickest route –
around Cape Horn.
Upon their arrival in Alicante in Easter 1966, they had
completed the longest non-stop passage by a yacht in history- 14,216 nautical miles, a world record which brought him
immediate recognition in the international yachting community
and made his next book, The Logical Route, another bestseller.
Not long after being back in France, Moitessier began
contemplating a non-stop voyage around the world. This was
just before the Sunday Times had devised its Golden Globe
Race. They tried to recruit Bernard as a competitor but he was
repulsed by the idea.
Anyone who attempted to do the journey for fame and
fortune would come to a sticky end, he said. Eventually, and
somewhat reluctantly, Moitessier decided to sail Joshua to
Plymouth to meet the criteria for the race by leaving and
returning to the same English port.
He departed Plymouth in August 1968 and after a quick
passage south was soon off the Cape of Good Hope. A
succession of gales characterised his trip through the Southern
Ocean where he drew upon the raw power of the elements. He
passed Cape Horn only 19 days behind Robin Knox-Johnston,
who was leading, having left two months before Moitessier.
But in the Indian Ocean he considered not returning to
Europe. And when, having passed Cape Horn and a south-
easterly gale began blowing him north again, back towards
Europe, fame and fortune, his mind was made up.
He had refused to have a radio on board, so fired a message
via slingshot onto the deck of a passing ship: “I am continuing my
journey because I am happy at sea and perhaps to save my soul.”126 Boating New Zealand
LEFT An extract from one of Moitessier’s books.
BELOW Joshua has been restored and lives at France’s
Maritime Museum.
My real log is written in the sea and sky; the BOTTOM Moistessier’s grave in Bono, Brittany.
sails talking with the rain and the stars amid
the sounds of the sea, the silences full of secret
things between my boat and me, like the
times I spent as a child listening to forest talk.Bernard Moitessier