and they sent a journalist to start to talk to me and he said which was honest because that isn't what the gymnast wanted he wanted me to say i'll beat that surf. that isn't where i work. so they decided i didn't stand a chance so they don't bother with me. then they realised other people keep doing it so they announced on the 17th of march 1968 that i was in a race they were organising. i never actually entered it. eventually the race was made up of nine competitors. they sailed down the atlantic ocean, past the cape of good hope towards australia and new zealand through the roaring 405. then around cape horn, up the south atlantic and that across the north atlantic. the voyage would take at least ten through 12 months. the biggest threat in theory at the beginning was the italian because they had a 60 foot boat. we had to put out into lisbon early on. after that, the most experienced sailor was the frenchman. he had a bigger boat than me. so he knew what he was taking on, therefore he was the threat as far as i could was concerned.

did they put any conditions or restrictions on your? they try to. they said initially the race would start on the 31st of october and i said good luck. they said what do you mean? i said i'm going with the ist of june. they said you won't be able to be in our race and i said while you're catching on fast. what they couldn't grasp is that suhaili is not a fast boat. you've got to look at cape horn and you want to pass that in mid—summer, to do that i had to leave injune. if i left in october i be going around cape horn in the coming of winter and it's a dangerous place at the best of times and even worse in winter. and i was not alone. they said the same thing. did you ever had any doubts that it could be done? i was 28, 29. i've been a captain by then. i'm pretty darn experienced, i've sailed

my boat 20,000 miles. i had to build the boat. i felt i had as good a chance as anyone else. of achieving it. and i just felt this is something i've really got to try and do. i don't want to be 90 looking and saying i wish i did that. can you give us an idea of what the provisions were? it's was tins because we did not have freeze—dried foods in those days. so i had some tins of bully beef, steak, baked beans, peas, beans, carrots, potatoes. take fresh food and hope it lasted. two months will be maximum. eggs greased in vaseline, they last about two months. after that you're on what you've got. tins won't survive in a boat because they'll rust. and then eventually you hear the hissing

noise and that the contents of the gas escaping so you have to treat them. coat them in white paint, take the label off and furnish them to make them last longer. even so i mean towards the end i was getting a lot of tins and every night and here a couple hissing. when you set off, how much of this area was filled with provisions that you needed? well, from there to there was started. with containers of water, paraffin, patrol for the generator. and other bits and pieces. up the front were shelves. i took out the banks of book shelves and my food was up there, fresh food was up there, potatoes, onions that kind of thing. in these lockers here they were full of tins. and there were more tins up front as well. and these banks were

still here but the outer bunks were full of storage, there was not a lot of room to move around. was there a big sendoff? not really, no. people see me off, mother, father, brother. sunday mirror, three of them, a chap from the sunday times. that was basically it. this is it. there's all the background of the boat. they can see where the boat is registered. this is day one. initially, taking it very easy and you if i initially, taking it very easy and you if i went to hospital i had to go then.

for the first month i was pushing very hard. and the signs disappeared and i felt better and i started to push. in 1971, robin recreated parts of his voyage for bbc television documentary. you know you are pushing on at the same time thinking getting close to this sort of motion, what would it be like? the first ten days it was that bad. that's when i lost my freshwater, smashed up the steering, that to me losing the radio. it got knocked over. how scared were you? there were big waves coming towards the

boat, it's too late to be scared you have to do with it. on one occasion, i saw one coming and i realised i can get down inside the boat or i'd be safe. i was on deck and i got washed off, no question. i went up the rigging. let me show you this one because this is all that instance where i climbed up the mast. in fact the artist has put me halfway up the mast. which is true that's what i did. and this wave broke right over the boat and he disappeared so there's me and two mast and no land for 1500 miles any direction and then the boat shook itself and up she popped. the reason why you did not broach is you did not broach is easy to line their that's the stern which was stopping her from swinging around in front of the wave if she had done that i'd have been dismounted. basically it's tied onto the post up front, all the

way out and back on board and tied back onto the post. but that gives a tremendous amount of resistance and so it holds the stern into the waves. but it stopped her losing control swinging around in front and when that hits you sideways on you will be rolled and lose the mast. i'd hear the waves coming up over the boat and i'd look to the portals and see them go blue with the water. i knew she was quite safe like that she was not getting from hammered, the boat was comfortable, that is what you spend all your time worrying about, is my boat comfortable. how were you bearing up? i was doing fine actually. i had a few problems inevitably, battery acid in the eye hurts a bit and stop me seeing about a week in one eye. preparing sails, you had to bang your hands to bruise them so

you could use the needle because it's so cold. and i didn't have any gloves i couldn't worked with the gloves anyway. i've been down for five months now, my clothing was dampened you said if this was easy someone else would have done it. i've got this opportunity. so stop whining and get on with it. made excellent progress getting buffeted by waves, many of which i broken right over the boat. panic heavily at times, this is the worst punishment suhaili has ever taken. so i'm in a gale. i think what's incredible is how neat that writing is when you consider the conditions consider the conditions you're writing it in. you would yourself you see. the back of the boat inside got my navigation with the radio was

and i wedged myself. you can see i was sleeping then the log been filled in. but i'm up here went to bed about midnight. i did in fact and i slept through until after seven in the morning. so you have to try and keep your mind active. i took to learning poetry. one time i could recite the whole poem. the lowing herd winds slowly. and leaves the world and sent to me. keeping clean became part of his routine on board suhaili. i'd dive off the boat, swim and climbed back on board, get all the sea water. cover myself in soap and dive off and fresh off and come back on board.

in your log, july the 13th, you'd talk about springing a leak in shark infested waters. it wasn't springing a leak, she was leaking regularly. i thought well i can't go in the southern ocean like this i got to stop it and i had some copper that could tack over the part that was leaking. it's about four and a half five feet underwater. you go down and get a tack in and come up for air go down, put another a tack in, keep the hangar on some string so it's down there ready for you. and you were away at it and i was working away three or four hours maybe longer but i was aware of this great shape swimming around me. it wasn't excited it was just curious. so it went on for a bit longer than expected

to get a bit more jerky and i thought time to get out. so i climbed out of the water and of course he would not go away. i've got this half attached a piece of copper i can't afford to lose it that shark is stopping me so he's got to go. so i threw some bait in the water and the scavengers came up in his head broke the surface and i shot him. and i waited half an hourjust to make sure blood and stuff had not attracted mates to come and eat him and eat me at the same time and i went back and finished thejob. there was no choice, he had to go, he was threatening me. the first human contact i had after 147 days actually apart from the radio was the pilot vessel off melbourne andi sailed up to him and it was quite a reasonably calm day and so the smoke comes up

and its signalflag is up, british flag and he looked down and said yeah and i said hello, he said clear off. i said look i am 147 days out from the uk to wonder if you could report me and take some mail and stuff. wellthey did actually report me because of pain came over a couple of days later. it was a sunny, calm day. and i got everything out and i was lying out there naked enjoying the sun after being white from being covered and i got the generator running and everything is fine and all well and i'm cruising along there i am andi became aware of another noise. i looked up and there was this aircraft and a photographer taking pictures, i put a towel on quickly so. what do you want to do when the voyage is over?

hot baths. anything else? steak, egg and chips with potatoes and peas and a beautiful juicy sirloin steak, medium rare, two eggs and lemon meringue pie and the first thing, a pint of english beer. and he said i've got the mail and i said bring it overand he said i can't. what do you mean you can't, i could pass it to me. and he said no. if i give you this mail it outside assistance i said oh you're joking. so he said on the boat five yards away reading my letters to me. as he passed the horn, the sea was almost miraculously, and he had every reason to celebrate. january 17. we've passed it! to add to my pleasure

there is a piece in the times i have something new to read. i carefully remove the foil wrapping and the aroma hits me. i cut a slice and make it last a bit if i can. i had no idea where the other competitors were off to new zealand. i've heard of people i'd not heard of before, they were just names to me. i knew that ridgway was out, king was out, i knew that. and modesto was behind me and very quick down the atlantic and quicker in the southern ocean. he decided not to finish, changed course and headed to the pacific islands. than his boat was found abandoned. he later became known

that he realised his boats couldn't have withstood the southern oceans and had faked his voyage. with the realisation that his deception would have been discovered he appears to have committed suicide. he's only left robin knox—johnston in the race. you are missing for 137 days, did you know you are missing? what i wasn't missing because i knew where i was. but the rest of the world i was missing. every time i saw a ship i tried calling up. i called up one off the equator when i was there and i thought boy, these will be the last humans i see. when i called them with the vamp, no answer. distress rockets, he just sailed straight past. how could you treat that? well i didn't have the drugs you need to keep it under control so i went on a sloppy diet. didn't eat very much at all. i went on soft food like porridge and things like that. i did not eat meat, vegetables, anything

like that. i was doubled up in the cockpit for three days, i was in a lot of pain. and then it began to fade. i eventually thought i poisoned myself with my cooking. at what point did you manage to make contact with the uk and effectively planning your homecoming? it was easter saturday actually. i think it was the 5th of april. about 7am i called up british mobile and the chap on watch signal back and of course we have probably been to the same nautical college and i suddenly realised the ways he's acknowledging he's getting what i'm saying. so i said i sent back suhaili reported missing.

m i k report me. he went repeat the name. yes! i then had to rely on him. 20 to nine my brother picked up the phone to say i've been sighted. and they stopped the presses and changed the front page and there was a lot going on ashore which i knew nothing about. robin knoxjohnston parents waiting on the aisles for the first site of the son they had not seen for over 300 days. they were a guest of one newspaper group which is the biggest ship on the aisles. the queen of the aisles, also waiting in the harbour, the high—speed launch traded by the paper that sponsored his voyage. at the moment his little corporation between the different factions who we re between the different factions who were trying to be the first intercept the officer.

were trying to be the first intercept the officerlj were trying to be the first intercept the officer. i got a code with the mirror. which the radio worked long enough to get to the ci’oss worked long enough to get to the cross and then of coarse the future went again. towards the end after search hadn't found him we were beginning to get worried because while someone is out in mid ocean you think of them in mid ocean you don't worry but when people started looking for them and don't find them then you begin to wonder. i think last week we were worried. this at what time will you finish and i said nine o'clock and they said my? well they will meet you. but he has got here appointment at nine o'clock. i then can she have it done no. ok, so i sealed up, the wind changed, i didn't finish until 320 in the afternoon. which time her hair was ruined by the wind anyway. the canon has gone. the canon have gone. date

312 of 25 past three on april the 22nd and robin knox—johnston and suhaili have sailed nonstop around the world. of course i went into the harbour and the first people that came to me were customs. interesting. and they jumped came to me were customs. interesting. and theyjumped on board to immaculate customs officers. good afternoon captain, we're from? the new project we will where i was from. it was the age—old question, they were doing it right. isaid question, they were doing it right. i said farmers. that was it that was the finish. as well as your achievements there were two prizes. the trophy and a cash prize. where is the trophy? the trophy is that my old school i want to encourage people to think outside the box. dream beyond so that rate is. it's in the middle part preacher. he was

also awarded the £5,000 for being the fastest but decided to give the money to the widow and family of donald crowhurst who were now facing financial ruin. i never expected to win it so it was not something i budgeted to have. also i felt huge sympathy for the crowhurst, four children, oldest 12, going to lose their house, lost their husband, i don't think my conscience would have allowed that so it seemed the right thing to do. since winning the race, robin knox—johnston has circumnavigated the globe three more times including a solo nonstop in 2007. he was awarded a cbe in 1969. and nine did in 1995. and in 1996, he founded the clipper race where members of the public can take part eitherfor members of the public can take part either for the whole circumnavigation were a particular leg. you give ordinary people now an

opportunity to follow into your footsteps. how important is that legacy for you? every time you see someone you legacy for you? every time you see someone you help sailed around the world or retrieve their seeming dream ended, then say you gave me the idea i think all that was worth it. they've achieved something special with their lives and then across an ocean. every 5000 from now you know of coarse i'm proud of that. proud of all those people taking out of their humdrum lives and sean dakin do more than they thought. i think is not a bad way to spend your life actually. i look back at it and say well, 29—year—old me made the right decision to go. the 29—year—old me was probably almost the best prepared for that wage and the 29—year—old me was

stubborn enough to push on. faced with that opportunity today would i go for it? the chances are if i could find it i probably wouldn't still. hello there, we close out our working week with a north—south divide. we have burning looking clouds across the out of the county. some showers in the scotland. further south that with a different story. the crowd broke up the sunshine came through and in cant we saw some temperatures into the mid—20s. bear these conditions in mind, this north—south divide me come back. in a time. all that in a moment. as he had to the weekend, it looks like on saturday it could be cooler and a showery story for many of us, or dryer but with plenty of clout around on sunday. so, saturday will be cooler because of this area of low pressure. moving in from the atla ntic of low pressure. moving in from the atlantic it will bring heavier bursts of rain across northern

ireland and scotland and even some rumbles of thunder with it as well. we will see somewhat weather along west coasting whales and south england but as it pushes its way eastward into week and also to the midlands and onto the southeast a bit of it? as to how much rain we will see. cooler for all these teens 18 degrees perhaps highest values. now that front clear through saturday night and sunday would allow this ridge of high pressure to client things down don't be too put off by this front pushing in on the atla ntic off by this front pushing in on the atlantic a week affair, not pleasing to much in the way of significant rain. with a south—westerly flow driving work crowd and the odd spot or two of drizzle and a few showers along west facing coasts. further east with a ground breaking up and some sunshine and temperatures will bea some sunshine and temperatures will be a degree or so high you're peeking around 20 or 21 degrees. here is the working week. on monday low pressure really centred to do north of scotland. charter wins here

and a week affair of a few showers perhaps up into the far north and west. i will be the story ready to start up money. still driving in mark about, so maybe some murky conditions along with facing coasts, we was he the best of the break in the crowd and the sunshine and if that happens, we will see highest values of 24 degrees. that's good for the east anglia and coastline after that northeasterly flow we had in may we will be pleased with that sunshine and that warmth. in fact we have got high pressure down to the south west on tuesday, weather fronts stopping across the top of that type so that's where the wettest of the weather is like to stay to northern ireland and to the bulk of scotland. further south still with our south—westerly flow, still with our south—westerly flow, still driving in mark about along west wales but further in and again with the sunshine and again those temperatures are likely to respond and be quite a warm day at 26 or 27 degrees cooler without wet and slightly breezy with the best

weather conditions into the far north. the reason being is that the jet stream is still pretty active at the moment and it's thejets that drive these areas of low pressure towards the uk and it's just shifted north and that means the windiest of the weather is likely to sit towards the weather is likely to sit towards the north and it will allow this area of high pressure to build from the southwest and we keep that south—westerly flow but more importantly look at the temperature here we will start to see the brighter records returning meaning temperatures will likely to peak into the mid—20s may be a degree or so high your. mane dry and warmer in the south further ahead but cooler with some rain in the north. like we saw in the pictures at the beginning. that is it. have a great weekend. this is bbc news. the headlines at ten: the prime minister says she's disappointed a tory mp has blocked a bill which could have made upskirting — the act of secretly taking photos under a skirt — a sexual offence.

donald trump announces the us will be putting a 25% trade tariff on more than $50 billion worth of chinese imports. two teenage moped riders are jailed for life after they stabbed and killed a charity youth worker during a violent robbery spree. a damning report says the government's flagship benefits scheme — universal credit — may end up costing more than the system it replaced. stars pay tribute to leslie grantham, best known for playing the roguish landlord dirty den in eastenders, who's died today aged 71. the a hat trick for cristiano ronaldo as portugal grab