Susie Goodall at sea
Susie Goodall is tired of people asking why she wants to sail singlehandedly, non-stop around the world using 1960’s equipment.
“Why not?” she asks.
Emphatically.
Fifty years ago, between June 1st and the end of October, 1968, nine men in nine sailboats set out from the southern coast of England as entrants in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Their objective was to sail, single-handedly, around the world without stopping. Six entrants dropped out, one likely committed suicide (the story is told in the recently released film titled Mercy) and one debonair Frenchman decided that rather than finish the race he would prolong his joy by continuing to sail the world's oceans. Only one individual, (Sir) Robin Knox-Johnston from the U.K., completed the race.
Because this year marks the 50th anniversary of the start of that event, another almost identical race is scheduled to take place. In homage to the past, entrants must use the same type of equipment that existed in 1968. Sextants and compasses will replace satellite updates; paper, pen and books will replace computers.
The race is limited to 30 entrants. The current smorgasbord of confirmed applicants includes sailors from more than a dozen nations, such as a 72 year-old French man, a 38 year-old from India and Susie Goodall of the UK, who is the same age—28—as Knox-Johnston was when he began the race. Being the youngest as well as the only female competitor, there is international focus both on her participation and her pragmatic zeal.
We recently spoke together at the Sail In Festival in Bilbao, Spain. Goodall is a warm, candid and approachable woman more interested in loading her 36-foot boat with adequate meals and gear than figuring out what sound bites might dazzle the press.
Goodall was working in Iceland on a sail-training expedition when a crew member told her about this race. At an onshore restaurant she sent an email to race organizer Don McIntyre requesting that he hold a place for her. She promised to submit an online application when she located a less sketchy Internet connection.
“I said, save me a spot. I want to do this,” she explained. “When I first heard about it, that was pretty much the decision point. When I was young, I watched Ellen MacArthur on TV.” [MacArthur broke the speed record for solo circumnavigation around the world]. “If she could do it, I could do it. It was just kind of an idea when I was younger. This is very much in my vision of what I wanted to do.”
Goodall’s rapid decisiveness and lack of concern regarding any ‘why’ parallels thought processes of previous race winner Knox-Johnston. In a book that tells about the original race—A Voyage for Madmen—author Peter Nichols wrote about this determined, prize-winning sailor.
">The decision was almost instantaneous. He saw the shape of the voyage, and he wanted to do it. For him, and for the others who would come to the same decision, there was no deliberation, no deeper rationale of reason. The process was identical in each case: once the idea was grasped, the decision was made. Let others reason why.
Susie Goodall at sea
Susie Goodall is tired of people asking why she wants to sail singlehandedly, non-stop around the world using 1960’s equipment.
“Why not?” she asks.
Emphatically.
Fifty years ago, between June 1st and the end of October, 1968, nine men in nine sailboats set out from the southern coast of England as entrants in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Their objective was to sail, single-handedly, around the world without stopping. Six entrants dropped out, one likely committed suicide (the story is told in the recently released film titled Mercy) and one debonair Frenchman decided that rather than finish the race he would prolong his joy by continuing to sail the world's oceans. Only one individual, (Sir) Robin Knox-Johnston from the U.K., completed the race.
Because this year marks the 50th anniversary of the start of that event, another almost identical race is scheduled to take place. In homage to the past, entrants must use the same type of equipment that existed in 1968. Sextants and compasses will replace satellite updates; paper, pen and books will replace computers.
The race is limited to 30 entrants. The current smorgasbord of confirmed applicants includes sailors from more than a dozen nations, such as a 72 year-old French man, a 38 year-old from India and Susie Goodall of the UK, who is the same age—28—as Knox-Johnston was when he began the race. Being the youngest as well as the only female competitor, there is international focus both on her participation and her pragmatic zeal.
We recently spoke together at the Sail In Festival in Bilbao, Spain. Goodall is a warm, candid and approachable woman more interested in loading her 36-foot boat with adequate meals and gear than figuring out what sound bites might dazzle the press.
Goodall was working in Iceland on a sail-training expedition when a crew member told her about this race. At an onshore restaurant she sent an email to race organizer Don McIntyre requesting that he hold a place for her. She promised to submit an online application when she located a less sketchy Internet connection.
“I said, save me a spot. I want to do this,” she explained. “When I first heard about it, that was pretty much the decision point. When I was young, I watched Ellen MacArthur on TV.” [MacArthur broke the speed record for solo circumnavigation around the world]. “If she could do it, I could do it. It was just kind of an idea when I was younger. This is very much in my vision of what I wanted to do.”
Goodall’s rapid decisiveness and lack of concern regarding any ‘why’ parallels thought processes of previous race winner Knox-Johnston. In a book that tells about the original race—A Voyage for Madmen—author Peter Nichols wrote about this determined, prize-winning sailor.
Read Again https://www.forbes.com/sites/tmullen/2018/04/02/28-year-old-sailor-susie-goodall-will-take-on-the-planet-in-1960s-style/The decision was almost instantaneous. He saw the shape of the voyage, and he wanted to do it. For him, and for the others who would come to the same decision, there was no deliberation, no deeper rationale of reason. The process was identical in each case: once the idea was grasped, the decision was made. Let others reason why.
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