"Kiwi Spirit" and Stanley Paris
At the age of 76, Stanley Paris, who was born in New Zealand, wants to become the oldest non-stop circumnavigator. Since its start in St. Augustine / Floridist Paris, it has been at sea for 36 days with its 64-foot single-hand yacht. Now, however, the sprightly pensioner reports the first setbacks. On New Year's morning he was surprised by the strong wind that blew the headsail to shreds. "It was too dangerous to intervene at night," he writes on his blog, "so I could only watch it disintegrate bit by bit."
When the daylight allowed an overview, Paris found that part of the sail had become entangled in the shrouds. "When I tugged on it, it came free very unexpectedly. I lost my balance and fell on deck. In the process, I landed on my back on a ledge. The pain under my left shoulder blade was the worst of my life." After a few anxious minutes on deck, Paris began to test his lungs. Then he tried to work his way up to the cockpit on all fours. "I couldn't put any weight on my left arm and a rib cracked in my back with every movement." When the single-handed sailor reached the cockpit, it collapsed and lay there for several hours.
"Today, a few days later, I feel better," he continues, "but it will certainly be some time before I can fully use my left arm again. Until then, I will sail more conservatively and allow myself some rest."
Yesterday morning Paris sounded quite optimistic again. "Last night it was slack so I salvaged all of the sails. I had a sleepless night because the ship rolled so much." He doesn't seem to be thinking about giving up and making a stopover in Cape Town, but instead is looking forward to the Southern Ocean: "The days of calm will finally be over when I reach the west wind belt."
More information about the trip on Paris' blog www.stanleyparis.com or on his Facebook page.
In addition, Paris' yacht "Kiwi Spirit" will be presented as a special boat in YACHT 03-2014. The magazine will be available in stores from January 22nd.