Pete
I built my first boat at 22 with the plan to sail across the Atlantic. In 50 years of sailing, I have sailed in all the world’s oceans, covering nearly 300,000 miles, and anchored in some very remote places. I love to try new things, so it is not surprising that I built and had quite a few boats. The list might not be finished yet!
As an active proponent of junk rig, I am perplexed by so many cruisers failing to appreciate the numerous and important advantages of this simple and inexpensive rig.
With my own designed and self-built catamaran “China Moon” (37ft) I single-handedly sailed to Patagonia, South Shetlands and South Georgia and safely delivered the same boat when sold from Brazil to Tasmania via the Southern Ocean (72-day non-stop passage, with a new owner).
I entered the first Jester Challenge in 2006, sailing in “Shanty” (Kingfisher 20+), arriving in Newport USA 2nd and last! My boat “Badger” as described in “Voyaging on a Small Income” by my then-wife Annie Hill is now considered a classic, and our sailing to Greenland, Falklands and Antarctica was featured in Yachting Monthly.
As well as sailing to the Arctic and Antarctic and Southern Ocean – either single-handed or with a crew, I mainly sailed in the South & North Atlantic, which I consider the best cruising ground. Over the years, I dealt with:
Number of knockdowns, and three dismastings
Broken off rudders and cross bars (on catamarans)
Broken and lost trim tabs and wind vanes
Lost, found and fitted back (with a split pin) propeller at Staten Island
Blown off dinghy, hatches and broken battens
Dropped off keel (Oryx)
Lost Jordan series drogue, broken shackle on the bridle for JSD (Oryx)
Cockpits filled to the brim
Mast climbing in rough ocean seas
Fire on board
I like all aspects of seafaring: boat design and building, testing different rigs, celestial navigation, as well as charting unexplored places.
I do all needed repairs, often while underway and in clement conditions using hand tools: a saw, a chisel, a brace, clamps, and a plane. My boats are simple with no autopilot, no SSB, no EPIRB, no liferaft, no Starlink…. Not wanting to endanger other people’s lives to save my own, I am relying on the strength of the boat, the rig and my seamanship. For me, sailing is a committed way of life.
I am probably best summed up as very good at getting out of trouble that I shouldn’t have got into!
Pete’s first boat – Hornet Dinghy.
Pete, always cool, was visibly emotional when notified by the Cruising Club of America of the **Blue Water Medal **he was awarded for 2025.
Expressing profound gratitude, he said:
“I am blown away by this.This is such an honor.”
Pete is a founding member of the Junk Rig Association in 1979, and a member of the **Royal Cruising Club **since1989. He has received numerous sailing awards in recognition of his extraordinary seamanship and voyages, to list a few:
Goldsmith Exploration Award & Challenge Cup (1995), Founders Cup (2004, 2013), Juno Cup (2003, 1997), Medal for Seamanship (2025, awarded jointly to Pete & Linda) and by OCC – Inaugural Jester Medal (2006),
He spent years meticulously researching material for RCC Pilotage Foundation Cruising Guides and is the author of a number of publications:
South Shetland Island, South Orkney Islands, South Georgia, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil….
His seafaring life has been best described by Graham Cox, the author of the *“Junk Rig Hall of Fame”, and“Last Days of the Slocum Era”. * He is currently reporting on the 2025 Mini Globe Race.