Captured on camera: solo offshore racing pt1

Blue Green photo agency's Christian Fevrier provides this unique gallery from the annals of solo sailing

While Knox-Johnston sailed non-stop round the world eastabout, three years later Chay (now Sir Chay) Blyth sailed singlehanded non-stop around the world westabout, sparking off a rivalry between the two which lasts to this day (Blyth runs the Challenge Business, Knox-Johnston Clipper Ventures).

Both Knox-Johnston and Blyth then took part in Whitbreads and moved into short handed multihull racing in the late 1970s with a series of ground breaking designs for their day, Knox-Johnston working with designer Rod MacAlpine-Downie and Blyth (pictured below prior to the start of the 1988 OSTAR) with Derek Kelsall and John Shuttleworth.



On Great Britain IV Blyth won the 1978 Round Britain Race and three years later took the Two-STAR on board Brittany Ferries GB. In both these two-handed events he sailed with another great figure from solo sailing Rob James, seen below in the 31ft Dick Newick design Boatfile prior to the start of the 1980 OSTAR.



Rob James then went on to get his own sponsorship from Colt Cars and had a 60ft trimaran built. In the 1982 James raced his Colt Cars GB in the Round Britain and Ireland Race, winning 42 minutes ahead of Chay Blyth and Peter Bateman. His crew was James' remarkable wife Noami (below), herself a singlehanded sailor who took part in the 1980 OSTAR in the 53ft monohull Kriter Lady.

Rob James was later lost overboard. The Colt Cars Whitbread maxi that was in build at the time for him went on to become Simon le Bon's Drum.