The Briton Robin Knox-Johnston is the skipper who has most marked the history of offshore racing, in England and in the world.
Robin Knox-Johnston is undoubtedly the greatest British sailor. But beyond that, this exceptional mariner has made history in offshore racing, alongside the likes of Peter Blake and Eric Tabarly. Since the beginning of his career in 1968 on the Golden Globe Challenge On Suhaili, at the Route du Rhum, in 2014, Robin Knox-Johnston never stopped sailing.
Robin Knox-Johnston He was born in 1939 in London and then lived in Liverpool until 1957. From then until 1967, he served in the Merchant Navy and the Royal Navy. In 1965, he bought a Colin Archer design, a 32-foot sloop, in Bombay. He would later bring his boat back, named Suhailiin England, after a two-year journey.
Robin Knox-Johnston, legendary skipper
On June 14, 1968, he set off from Golden Globe Challenge With his sailboat Suhaili, he achieved the first solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world. His battle with Bernard Moitessier, who set off two months later, remains legendary in the world of offshore racing. He arrived in Falmouth on April 22, 1969, a victor and hero, after 312 days at sea.
Robin Knox-Johnston is the first man to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
A skipper with a Lord’s career
His victory in the Golden Globe Challenge This would be the first of a long career. Robin Knox-Johnston would win the Round Britain Race twice, in 1970 and 1974. He would often be accompanied by trusted individuals, much like Tabarly and his crew (Kersauson, Lamazou, etc.). He would win the Cape to Rio race in 1971, as well as two stages of the 
Whitbread, in 1977, with Les Williams and Peter Blake as crew. Peter Blake and he would go on to win the Jules Verne Trophy in 1994, after 74 days, 22 hours, 18 minutes and 22 seconds at sea.
In 2007, at the age of 68, he participated in the Velux 5 Oceans Race and finished in fourth place, becoming the oldest skipper to complete a round-the-world race. But the sailor doesn’t know when to stop, and in 2014, Robin Knox-Johnston, aged 75, set off on the Route du Rhum solo transatlantic race, which he finished in third place in the Rhum category.
In 1995, he was knighted in recognition of his entire career and his contributions to offshore racing and sailing in general. In 1994, he and Blake were named ISAF Sailor of the Year. Robin Knox-Johnston is the only sailor to have won the YJA Yachtsman of the Year title three times.
the history of the race, also on land
Robin Knox-Johnston is also very active on land. He plays a significant role in the organization of maritime life in England. He served as president of the Sail Training Association from 1992 to 2001.
During this period, he also served as a trustee of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Currently, he is a trustee of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, where Suhaili, his first sailing ship, is moored.