Dr Paris To Attempt ‘Around The World’ Again

After abandoning his first attempt due to issues with his boat, 76-year-old sailor Dr. Stanley Paris will again attempt to become the oldest and fastest person to sail around the world, with plans to leave from Bermuda this coming November.

The New Zealand native planned to travel around the world in his 63ft boat Kiwi Spirit, hoping to complete the circumnavigation in less than 150 days 1 hour and 6 minutes, which would break the previous record set by American sailor Dodge Morgan in 1985.

After leaving Bermuda’s waters on 7th December 2013, Dr. Paris made his way down the coast of South America, however he was forced to abandon the trip in January and head to land in South Africa.

Dr Paris’ boat pictured off St David’s, Bermuda on Dec 7th:

Dr Paris said that this coming November, he will try again with the hopes to break the existing record of 150 days from Bermuda, and to be the first to do “it green” as well as the oldest to have do it solo.

“There will be a difference this time,” said Dr Paris. “Our start last time was postponed because of weather at the inlet and that could well occur again.

“But last time once I reached Bermuda the wind was mostly absent for three days and I languished during that time. Now my weather routers will be monitoring the weather for ten days.”

Dr Paris is the father of Alan Paris, who became the first Bermudian sailor to complete a circumnavigation of the globe in 2003.

Dr Paris announced he plans to make a second attempt on his blog, an excerpt follows below:

The attention that my yacht, Kiwi Spirit, gained in the media for itself and the city, especially in yachting magazines, was much more than I had imagined.

I am regretful that I had to abandon the voyage one third of the way around the world, after fifty days at sea. After my team saw photos of the cumulative damage aboard they urged me to head for Cape Town. It was of course a big disappointment to all of us, and incredibly difficult for me.

I have spent much of the month since I returned from South Africa with the architects, builders, riggers, sail makers and other talented people to assess the practicality of my boat, Kiwi Spirit, being not only made whole again, but made stronger so that along with its now more experienced captain, I could more confidentially set forth again.

I am here tonight, choosing this Commission meeting, to formally announce that on or about this coming November 8, Kiwi Spirit and I shall begin again.

The records I wish to set are once again:

• First to sail from St. Augustine, solo, non-stop and non-assisted around the world
• To break the existing record of 150 days from Bermuda and return
• To be the first ever to have done it green
• To be the oldest to have done it solo

There will be a difference this time

Our start last time was postponed because of weather at the inlet and that could well occur again. But last time once I reached Bermuda the wind was mostly absent for three days and I languished during that time. Now my weather routers will be monitoring the weather for ten days out to avoid such an occurrence.

Thus, while I set Saturday, November 8th as the date, it is a “soft date,” and while I expect a sendoff again, it will be fine with me if it is much lower key than before. However, on my successful return you can pull out as many stops as you wish.

Should I fail a second time, and the odds are of course high for many reasons, in additional to breakages, know that there will not be a third try as there is a limit to my wife Catherine’s tolerance for such things.

#BermudaSailing #StanleyParis

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