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Gerbault and the FirecrestHaving abandoned his profession as a civil = engineer,=20 Alain Gerbault sailed a 39-ft. yacht round the world. Though = several times=20 death all but claimed this fearless adventurer, he achieved an = astonishing=20 triumph. AFTER he had sailed round the world in the old English cutter=20 Firecrest, Alain Gerbault, the French yachtsman, linguist = and=20 lawn-tennis player, had a new yacht built for him and sailed = single-banded=20 back to the Pacific. There he took up his abode among the = Polynesians. In=20 two of his books, The Flight of the Firecrest and In = Quest of=20 the Sue (Hodder and Stoughton), Gerbault tells the story of = his world=20 voyage and reveals part of his character. His attitude towards = life is the=20 opposite of that expected of the conventional Frenchman, as = Gerbault.=20 states his decision to avoid cities and to lead the plain life of = the=20 sailor and bathe body and mind in sunshine.
A MODERN ULYSSES. Gerbault photographed =
at=20
Suva, His imagination and sensitiveness isolated him at school, but = he found=20 that the sea offered solace. His father owned a yacht, and = Gerbault made=20 friends with the children of the Breton fishermen. He dreamed of = the day=20 when he would own his own boat. Gerbault's imagination was fired by reading books about the = sea, and=20 even during the war of 1914 18, when he was an aviator, he longed = to be=20 afloat. He and two comrades decided to buy a. yacht and sail her = round the=20 world. As it happened, the two friends were killed, and after the war = Gerbault=20 decided that he, the survivor, would carry out the yoyage alone. = He had=20 been trained as a civil engineer, but abandoned his profession and = began=20 to look for a yacht that he could handle by himself. After having searched in France for a year Gerbault crossed the = Channel. He found the Firecrest near Southampton and = bought her.=20 The Firecrest was the type of yacht that few experienced = cruising=20 men would have selected for a blue-water cruise, but Gerbault was=20 enthusiastic about her, and rightly so, for she did all that he = asked her=20 to do. The Firecrest was a racing cruiser, designed by the = late=20 Dixon Kemp, and built by P. T. Harris at Rowhedge, Essex, in 1892. = Her=20 overall length was 39 feet, her length on the water-line 30 feet, = her beam=20 8 ft. 6 in., and her draught 7 feet. She had a lead keel weighing = three=20 and a half tons, with another three tons or inside ballast. The Firecrest was flush-decked, with a companion-way, a = hatch=20 forward, two skylights and a sail-locker hatch. A 6-ft. canvas = folding=20 dinghy was carried folded on deck. The yacht was built of oak and teak. Her accommodation was = divided into=20 three compartments - forecastle, saloon,and the cabin aft. This = sleeping=20 cabin had two bunks, with lockers under them, a wash-basin with a=20 fifteen-gallons water tank and book-racks. The saloon had lockers and a folding table; the forecastle = contained=20 two folding cots and the galley. Gerbault cooked on a paraffin = pressure=20 stove hung on gimbals to counteract the roll of the yacht. His other two water-tanks were forward, and he stored = provisions in the=20 lockers. Light was provided by an oil lamp and by candles hung on = gimbals.=20 He preferred the cutter rig to that of ketch or schooner on the = ground=20 that, he found it easier to reef than to fnrl sails and because = the cutter=20 rig gave him the maximum efficiency for his needs. Gerbault took the Firecrest to the Riviera. She was = tested by=20 gales in the Bay of Biscay during this passage, and fully = justified his=20 faith in her. He spent more than a year cruising on the Riviera = with an=20 English boy for shipmate, playing in lawn-tennis tournaments. He = set out=20 single-handed from Cannes in April, 1923, for the first, stage, a. = sail to=20 Gibraltar, when he felt sure he was fit to stand the physical and = mental=20 strain. At this period Gerbault carried squaresail and ran before a = gale,=20 logging thirty miles in three hours, an exceptional run for a boat = only 30=20 feet on the water-line. With such an unusually narrow yacht the single-handed sailor = found the=20 task of getting in the squaresail dangerous, as he appears to have = made=20 the mistake of carrying on too long before a rising gale. The yard = of the=20 squaresail was 21 feet long, and in trying to get it down Gerbault = found=20 that the lee-end touched the water, and he nearlv went. over the = side. It=20 took him over an hour to get sail and yard stowed on deck, and the = experience was such that he vowed never to use it again. He had = then had=20 sixteen hours at the tiller, and was glad to heave to for the = night.
AFTER 24,000 MILES. A photograph of =
Alain Gerbault=20
sitting in the bow of the Firecrest after The old-fashioned plank-on-edge type of cutter = naturally=20 proved hard on her gear in a storm in the turbulent Mediterranean. = Gerbault had scarcely started before he was busy with repairs. He = had=20 roller-reefing on his mainsail, and the gooseneck of that broke; a = topping=20 lift parted ; and then his jib halyard gave way and spilled the = jib into=20 the sea. He saved the sail at the risk of his life. When the gale ceased, a. period of light airs and calms ensued = that.=20 lasted for nearly three weeks, and it was not until May 1 that. = Gerbault=20 anchored at Gibraltar. He had a well-stocked library aboard, and, = more=20 important, had the right temperament for enduring protracted = calms. This=20 gift of patience is essential for the deep-sea cruising man, and = unless he=20 possesses it he will subject his nerves to a strain that will be = greater=20 than that imposed by a gale. Some of the dockyard "mateys" at Gibraltar still remember the = state of=20 the Firecrest's gear when she arrived; = it was=20 certainly in a bad condition. Everything was put.right, = however, and in a few weeks Gerbault prepared for a non-stop sail = from=20 Gibraltar to New York. It was an ambitious effort, as no one had = attempted=20 the east to west passage non-stop and single-handed before. ROUND THE WORLD. The course of = Gerbault's voyage=20 is shown on this sketch map. He began his trip when he left = Cannes, in the=20 French Riviera, in April, 1923, and ended it when he reached Le = Havre in=20 July, 1929. The Firecrest, an English boat, was built at=20 Rowhedge, Essex, in 1892. Her overall length was 39 feet, her = length on=20 the water-line 30 feet, her beam 8 ft. 6 in., and her draught 7 = feet. The=20 yacht, which Gerbault bought near Southampton, was built of oak = and teak.=20 Her accommodation was divided into forecastle. saloon and cabin = aft. This=20 vessel weathered all the storms and gales of the ocean and her = name will=20 never be forgotten by yachting enthusiasts. In addition to the necessity of overhauling the vessel before = embarking=20 on such a trip, there arose the important problem of food and = water=20 Gerbault took aboard the following supplies : 80 gallons of water, = 80 lb.=20 of salt beef, 60 lb. of ship's biscuit, 30 lb. of butter, 20 lb. = of bacon,=20 24 pots of jam and 50 lb. of potatoes. He left Gibraltar on June = 6. and=20 was fortunate enough to find enough wind to blow him clear of the = Rock, so=20 that at night he saw the Tangier light. Then the wind, which had = increased=20 to gale force, veered right ahead, and blew his jib to pieces; = therefore=20 he reefed his mainsail and hove to under that and the foresail = while he=20 turned in for the night. Next day he had more trouble. The patent roller-reefing gear, = which had=20 been repaired at Gibraltar, failed because of a fracture; and the = mainsail=20 began to part at the seams; thus before he was two days out of = Gibraltar=20 he was busy repairing his mainsail. He passed Cape Spartel, the = African=20 corner of the Strait of Gibraltar and gained the open Atlantic, = picking up=20 the trade wind on the third day. Noon observations showed Gerbault that, the Firecrest = had=20 covered fifty miles in the first two days from Gibraltar. = Considering the=20 strong set of the currents into the Mediterranean from the = Atlantic, and=20 in view of the fact that he had left the yacht to herself at = night, he had=20 done fairly well. When he settled down to run before the trade = wind, he=20 found that the design of the Firecrest needed a hand at the = tiller=20 all the time, thus he steered for twelve hours, after which he = hove to and=20 went below to sleep, turning out at five o'clock in the morning to = cook=20 breakfast. This consisted of porridge, bacon, ship's biscuit and = butter,=20 and tea and con=EF=BF=BDdensed milk. In common with most other = yachtsmen who have=20 cooked in the forecastle of a small yacht, he found that the roll = was too=20 much for the gimbals, so that whatever was on them occasionally = rolled=20 off. The need for constant steering necessarily added greatly to his = labours, and before long he had more trouble with his gear. The = bobstay,=20 running from the end of the bowsprit to the stem, broke, and he = had to go=20 out to the end of the bowsprit to repair the wire rope. Then the = foot of=20 the mainsail ripped. In the neighbourhood of Madeira, which he did not sight. the = trade wind=20 fell off. During the calms that followed, Gerbault experimented = with his=20 sails and found that by furling the mainsail, setting the trysail = and=20 trimming the jib in flat he could get the Firecrest to hold = her=20 course unaided by the tiller. He was therefore able to sail round = the=20 clock, although the speed under, this rig was not as good as that = under=20 the full mainsail: thus freed from the tyranny of the tiller he = was able=20 to enjoy life a little more. When Gerbault had been at sea for a month he found that the = bulk of his=20 water had gone sour. He carried fifty gallons in two new cask, = that he had=20 bought at Gibraltar, and this had gone bad. Only half of the = thirty=20 gallons he had stored in galvanized iron tanks remained : thus he = had to=20 ration himself to half a glass of water a day. When the wind came = again=20 his sails kept ripping ; and then his salt beef began to go bad. = This=20 happened when he had about 2,400 miles to sail. Before long, various parts of the wire rigging gave trouble. = Gerbault=20 found that for many purposes rope is better than steel wire, = because rope=20 will hear jerks and jolts much better than wire. He cut his water = ration=20 to a cup a day, and a fortnight passed before he was able to catch = a quart=20 of rain-water in a sail. Then he contracted fever and was too = listless to=20 pick up the flying fish that flopped on to the deck during the = night. When=20 he recovered he threw the cask of salt beef overboard. He was = successful=20 in catching fish, dangling his feet in the water to attract them = and then=20 spearing them as they came near to = inspect.=EF=BF=BD=EF=BF=BD=EF=BF=BDNot until August did he,=20 meet heavy rain, and this yielded him ten gallons of water. The = fish diet=20 then gave him a mild form of fish poisoning, and he had to = restrict that=20 type of food. Gales swept the yacht as she sailed through the hurricane belt. = On one=20 occasion Gerbault had to climb into the rigging to get out of = reach of a=20 sea that broke aboard the Firecrest, burying her deck under = tons of=20 water. The sea broke the bowsprit and caused part of the rigging = to give=20 way, so that the mast was in danger. To add to his troubles, both the stoves were out of action, and = he=20 considered running for Bermuda, the nearest port. After having had = sonic=20 rest, however, he set to work on one of the stoves and obtained a = hot=20 meal. He then repaired the rigging and his broken bowsprit. After = this he was=20 determined to make for New York, which he eventually reached 101 = days out=20 from Gibraltar. Gerbault then went to France, leaving the Firecrest in = New York.=20 He returned to her in 1924, to fit her out for the passage to the = South=20 Seas. The refitted Firecrest was a great improvement on the = old=20 ship. She had a new Oregon pine bowsprit, new standing rigging, = new sails,=20 a water tank holding forty-four gallons, bronze bobstay, a hollow = boom and=20 a new roller-reefing gear. The original gaff mainsail was replaced = by a=20 triangular one. Among the stores were a bow and arrows for = shooting fish,=20 rifles, a mile and a half of film and a library of books. Sailing from New York in November, Gerbault met bad weather = almost from=20 the start. On November 5, when he had not seen a vessel for two = days, he=20 saw that his port light was out, and went below to light it, but = stopped=20 to prepare a meal. He was filling the lamp when a steamer scraped = the=20 bowsprit of the Firecrest. Hastening on deck, Gerbault. saw = her=20 lights as she continued on her course, evidently unaware that she = had=20 scraped the yacht, which she had probably not seen in the = darkness. The=20 force of the blow tore the bitts out of the foredeck of the = Firecrest=20 and broke the forestay and the jibstay, so that the mast = threatened to=20 go at any moment. Gerbault carried out temporary repairs, but had = an=20 anxious time in the gales that battered the yacht before she = anchored in=20 the harbour of St. George, Bermuda. Thus, in spite of his elaborate fitting-out in New York, the = accident=20 of the collision and the effect of the gales on the crippled yacht = reduced=20 her to a sorry state in little more than a fort-night. As he had = set out=20 before stretching his new sails the gales had spoiled the set of = the=20 mainsail, and he had to have that recut. Much of the work done in New York had to be done all over again = in=20 Bermuda. One expensive job was the re-caulking of the hull, which = meant=20 that the copper sheathing had to be raised and then put into place = again.=20 Gerbault had been in France while his yacht was being refitted in = New York=20 ; but in Bermuda he was on the spot, supervising the work and = seeing that=20 it was done to his satisfaction. Repairs took about, three months. Gerbault then sailed for = Colon, the=20 Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, which he reached without = mishap. He=20 was towed through the Canal, and spent some time at Balboa, on the = Pacific=20 side. Here he met Harry Pidgeon, a Los Angeles photographer, who = was on=20 the concluding stage of a single-handed voyage round the world in = the yawl=20 Islander, only 34 feet long, which Pidgeon had built = himself. He=20 was the second man to sail round the world alone. Gerbault's next stage was from Panama to the = Galapagos=20 Islands. Because of the medley of currents and the fickle and = light winds=20 the voyage from Panama to the Galapagos Islands is one of the most = tedious=20 stretches of water for a sailing vessel. On one occasion Gerbault = had=20 sailed 450 miles through this stretch of water in about a = fortnight, but=20 because of the adverse current he had travelled only five miles. = Then he=20 managed to creep south to Malpelo Island, an isolated rock 300 = miles from=20 the mainland of South America, and slowly forged ahead out of the=20 northerly set of currents. At last, thirty-seven days out of Panama, he reached Chatham = Island, in=20 the Galapagos, some 800 miles from Panama. Here he obtained water = and=20 fruit, and prepared for the long sail of 3,000 miles to the = Gambier=20 Archipelago. The fresh trade wind enabled the Firecrest to start off = with=20 good daily runs, one being of 144 miles. A bonito weighing = 35 lb.=20 leapt out of the sea aboard the Firecrest, providing a = number of=20 meals. But except for this and for a few flying fish that fell on = deck and=20 sonic dolphins that Gerbault harpooned, he lived on rice, = porridge,=20 biscuits and potatoes, finding that he kept in good health on a = vegetarian=20 diet. Gerbanlt ran south, losing the trade wind in a week of calm. = When the=20 wind returned the rigging was in such a bad state that several = mishaps=20 happened almost at once. A backstay went and so did both = topping=20 lifts and six mast-hoops, and the oak tiller snapped. After = forty-nine=20 days at sea. Gerbault anchored in the harbour of Rikitea. In the = months he=20 spent with the natives Gerbault learnt their language, and then = sailed=20 1,000 miles north to the Marquesas, where he again made many = Polynesian=20 friends, becoming more and more friendly with them. He sailed on = to the=20 coral islands of the Tuamotu group, and so to Tahiti. His attitude = to the=20 officials was to avoid them, and he says that he was almost as = solitary=20 living aboard the Firecrest in the harbour of Papeete as = when he=20 had been at sea; but he made many friends among the natives. When = he=20 sailed to Bora Bora, an island near Tahiti, he became friendly = with the=20 officers of British and French naval sloops. It was at Wallis Island that Gerbault had the misfortune to be = blown on=20 to a reef while at anchor. He had previously lost his anchors and = had=20 borrowed one which failed to hold the yacht in a gale. The = Firecrest=20 knocked off her lead keel on the reef, and Gerbault was = swimming to=20 the shore when, relieved of the weight of the keel, the = Firecrest=20 floated over the top of the reef and followed him to the = beach,=20 digging a berth for herself in the sand. Wallis Island consists of an island and a number of islets = surrounded.=20 by a lagoon which is enclosed by a. coral reef. Gerbault entered = this=20 lagoon by a passage in the wall of coral. The Firecrest was = wrecked=20 on a reef in this lagoon and went ashore, without the lead keel, = on the=20 beach of the main island. About 5,000 Polynesians lived on the = island, but=20 there were no shipwrights or smiths. The first thing Gerbault did was to right the Firecrest. = He took=20 all the ballast out and moved his personal belongings to the homes = of=20 friends ashore. With the aid of natives the yacht was righted and = shored=20 up. The lead keel was uncovered by the tide, which left the reef = at low=20 water. A lighter was floated over the keel at high water, and the = keel was=20 lashed to the bottom of the lighter and floated by this means to = the beach=20 near the hull of the yacht. Gerbault replaced his belongings aboard the Firecrest = and lived=20 in the yacht while he waited for aid from civilization. His chief = concern=20 was to obtain new bolts for the keel. After many weeks a steamship = having=20 a forge aboard entered the lagoon, and the chief engineer forged = two iron=20 bolts and made four bronze bolts out of an old propeller = shaft. After several failures the keel was placed in position by = shifting it=20 into the water and floating the hull over it. Two Chinese, = however, who=20 were the only artisans on the island, made the holes in the wooden = keel so=20 large that when the tide rose the water leaked in at an alarming = rate. At=20 this stage the French naval sloop Cassiop=EF=BF=BDe, = sent to aid=20 Gerbault by the French Minister of Marine, arrived. Before long = her crew=20 had fixed the keel firmly in position. During his stay of some months Gerbault had become so popular = with the=20 islanders that they asked him to stay and be their chief, but when = the=20 Firecrest was repaired he put to sea. On arriving at Suva, = in the=20 Fiji Islands, he had the Firecrest hauled up on a slipway, = and=20 further repairs were made. After having left Fiji, Gerbault put in = at=20 various islands and reached New Guinea, and then passed through = the Torres=20 Strait, north of Australia. He nearly came to grief in the = reef-strewn=20 waters when his anchor chain parted, after he had lost his kedge = anchor=20 because of the hawser snapping. Without an anchor, he was relieved = to see=20 a native sloop, and when he hailed the men they offered to tow him = to=20 Coconut. Island. He took the tow-rope, and several natives came = aboard ;=20 these men were alarmed when the Firecrest heeled over in = the brisk=20 breeze, as they were not familiar with this habit of narrow = deep-draught=20 yachts.
A =
YOUNG ADMIRER.=20
Gerbault made many friends among the natives of the numerous =
islands At the island, Gerbault was unable to buy an anchor, but = managed to=20 borrow one on condition he left it at Thursday Island for the = owner's=20 friends to collect. Gerbault obtained ground tackle at Thursday = Island and=20 sailed clear of the reefs. He went on to the Cocos-Keeling = Islands, where=20 he saw the remains of the famous German raider Emden. Gerbault then sailed across the Indian Ocean to Rodriguez, and = for the=20 first time trusted himself to a pilot. The Firecrest = touched the=20 coral in a narrow channel, the pilot not realizing that a = deep-keeled=20 yacht carries considerable way on her. At the next island, Reunion, he had various ironwork repaired. = which=20 was a wise resolve, as the passage to Durban was a rough one. It = was even=20 rougher to Cape Town, where Gerbault dry docked the Firecrest,=20 finding that teredo worms had eaten away part of the rudder = stock
IN PARIS. A picturesque view of the =
yacht=20
Firecrest moored on the River Seine, with the His next stages were St. Helena and Ascension Island, and the = passage=20 from Ascension to.the Cape Verde Islands brought = trouble. He=20 crossed the Equator and slowly worked north up to the islands, but = was=20 baffled by head winds when near them. Porto Grande, the chief harbour in the group, is in the island = of St.=20 Vincent, which is separated from the island of St. Antonio by a = channel a=20 few miles wide through which the trade wind blows with some force = raising=20 a strong current. Instead of standing clear of this by going round = St.=20 Antonio, where he would have had ample sea room, and turning to = approach=20 Porto Grande from the north, Gerbault made many attempts at the = channel ;=20 thus he became tired out. The wind fell light, and he slept, to be = awakened by a slight shock as the Firecrest stranded on a = reef a=20 few yards from the beach of St. Antonio, where the current had = carried=20 her. Gerbault's activity in getting ashore and locating a village = when he=20 realized that nobody had seen his plight saved the Firecrest, = as=20 the weather remained fine long enough for her to be taken off. A = hole had=20 been knocked in her side, but this was plugged, and, with a crew = manning a=20 line of buckets to keep her afloat. she was towed across the = channel to=20 Porto Grande. She was repaired and Gerbault sailed, but she leaked = so=20 badly that he turned back and decided to stay at St. Vincent for = some=20 months, superintending repairs and writing a hook. When he left for the last time it was obvious to him that the=20 Firecrest would not last much longer ; she leaked, = compelling him=20 to work hard at the pump to keep her afloat. He put in at the = Azores and=20 then sailed on the last stage of the long voyage, arriving at Le = Havre in=20 July 1929.
ARRIVING AT LE HAVRE in July, 1929, at =
the end of=20
his spectacular voyage. Gerbault More than six years had elapsed since the Firecrest had = sailed=20 from Cannes, and she had covered more than forty thousand = miles. Gerbault proved himself a skilful navigator, but was less happy = with=20 his gear. He was hampered by having to start with an old boat. = Such a=20 voyage is hard on a little yacht which was over thirty years old = when she=20 had left France. Slocum and Pidgeon sailed in new boats. Despite the hardships of life in a small yacht, Gerbault had = energy to=20 spare for tennis and football when he went ashore in tropical = ports. Twice=20 wrecked, he patched up the Firecrest and com=EF=BF=BDpleted = the voyage when=20 a man of less persistence would have admitted defeat. Physical fitness served Gerbault in good stead on many = occasions. When=20 the yacht had stranded at a desolate spot on St. Antonio, he = half-ran and=20 half-walked over broken country under a hot sun without the least = fatigue,=20 although he had had little rest for four days. Then he worked hard = removing gear from the yacht and gave a cinema. entertainment to = the=20 islanders who had come to his aid ; not until then did he think = about=20 sleep. Gerbault's determination and his physical fitness were = outstanding=20 features of a wonderful voyage of ciremimnavigation.
AN ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD thronged the quay = at Le=20 Havre to greet the solitary yachtsman when he landed in France. = This=20 photograph shows the adventurer being helped from his vessel by = some=20 friends. During the last stages of the voyage from St. Vincent = (Cape Verde=20 Islands), Gerbault had not only to work his yacht alone, but also = to=20 labour at the pumps to keep her afloat, as she was in such a poor=20 condition. Postscript From Wikipedia... "Gerbault soon discovered that he missed the Pacific islands, = and=20 decided to return there. Firecrest was by now well worn, = so he=20 decided to build a new boat, 34 feet long, which he christened = Alain=20 Gerbault. He sailed again for the South Pacific, and vanished = from=20 the public eye, spending years wandering from island to island. He = wrote=20 several books about life on the islands, and criticising the = modern=20 western way of life. Gerbault died on December 16, 1941 in Dili (East Timor) of a =
tropical=20
fever. His death was not widely reported until August 22, 1944, =
over three=20
years later. A later report suggests that he had been imprisoned =
by the=20
Japanese. In 1947, his body was recovered and buried on Bora Bora, =
where a=20
monument to him was erected." |
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