biography
| name: |
Chichester, Sir Francis (Charles)
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pronunciation:
[chichester]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1901–72)
|
| biography:
| Pioneer air navigator, adventurer, and yachtsman, born in Barnstaple, Devon, SW England, UK. He studied at Marlborough, and emigrated to New Zealand in 1919, where he made a fortune as a land agent. He became interested in flying, and made several pioneer flights, but was badly injured by a crash in Japan (1931) while attempting a solo flying circumnavigation. He served in Britain as an air-navigation expert during World War 2. In 1953 he took up ocean sailing, winning the first solo transatlantic yacht race (1960) in Gipsy Moth III, sailing from Plymouth to New York City in 40 days; he repeated the success in 1962 in 33 days. He made a successful solo circumnavigation of the world (1966–7) in Gipsy Moth IV, sailing from Plymouth to Sydney in 107 days, and from there back to Plymouth, via Cape Horn, in 119 days. He was knighted in 1967. |
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