One of the great surprises in the new book is that they set off from Falmouth astonishingly unprepared. Dougal was an experienced sailor and Anne had learned the basics, but the children had no experience whatsoever. 'I still can't believe that!' cries Douglas. 'Why didn't we learn to sail in those quiet waters at Falmouth? We went straight into a force 10 gale and it was horrific. I had no idea what to do.' They had managed to grab water before abandoning their original vessel. They also collected rainwater and drank the blood of turtles when that ran out. They ate meagre rations of bread, biscuits, fruit, and also turtle flesh. Life on the raft was grim. 'It got holed when we launched it and that hole got worse. We were sitting with the water up to our chest. We had salt-water sores all over us and the heat would be taken out of your body – it was horrible. We used to take it in turns to sit on the thwart [seat] because it was dry, and my mum, God bless her, would say, 'Doug, you take my turn.' And she'd sit in the water for another hour.' Sleep was impossible, because as soon as they nodded off, their heads would hit the water and they'd jump awake. Lyn was terrified that the twins would drown in their sleep. Perfection & Pain on a Phénoménale day Just when we thought we'd seen it all in Gran Canaria, the SSL Gold Cup took it to a whole new level on the Golden Day of the 1/8 Finals. Double points meant it all came down to today's performance on the water.

During their transit of the Panama Canal, the family members took aboard an inexperienced crew member named Robin Williams, who accompanied them on the next stage of their voyage to the Galápagos Islands and beyond to the islands of the South Pacific. José Salvador Alvarenga, who spent 438 days drifting in a small open top boat from Mexico to the Marshall Islands.A record-breaking IMOCA fleet in the Transat Jacques Vabre The 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre-Normandie Le Havre featured a delayed start because of extreme weather and then a shortened course, but it still delivered a classic contest for the record-entry 40 IMOCA teams that took the start. Day 21 – The sea anchor and float broke away. Douglas rowed after it in a feat of sheer endurance, taking 35 minutes of rowing to retrieve it. That afternoon Douglas saw a green flare often used by submarines on manoeuvres, but nothing came of it. The life raft was a tight fit for the six of them and they needed to use a bellows to keep it afloat. But the bellows eventually became useless, and they had to keep inflating it by mouth. But after 16 days, even that was ineffective, and the six of them had to crowd into the little dingy. Ednamair towing the raft stern first. Illustration from ‘Survive the Savage Sea’ by Dougal Robertson. Day 14 – The raft was in even more poor condition, there was water flooding into it and a need for constant bailing. It was the beginning of the end for the raft. Caught a small turtle. Caught the blood in bailers and drank it.

Dad always felt guilty,' concludes Douglas. 'He always said, 'I don't know why I did it. I could have taken you to the Mediterranean – that would have done. I didn't have to take you around the world.' But we would say, 'Dad, we survived! You helped us! We did it!' On Day 15 Dougal dived in and swam to retrieve the dinghy which had broken free from the raft. Exhausted, he somehow found the strength and escaped the sharks. It was at this stage that Lyn suggested using the water from the bottom of the dinghy in the form of enemas. It was too foul to drink, but would allow their bodies to keep hydrated. Douglas crafted the makeshift equipment and everyone except Robin accepted the enemas.The Ednamair was named after Lyn’s sisters, Edna and Mary. Edna had given the family the money to buy the dinghy. Ednamair at National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth where she is on permanent display (Image: Lynn Vosper) To raise awareness for Stroke Foundation The crew of the Azzurro yacht is embarking on a journey beyond the open seas as they set sail in the prestigious Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Hunger and thirst were the greatest problems to be overcome. The group had several cans of water and the few rations they had managed to salvage, which lasted them about six days. They ate flying fish that landed in the raft and the dinghy, and caught dorado but Turtle became the mainstay of their diet. They ate the meat and eggs and drank the blood. The raft was leaking, and they were all sat in water up to their chests, giving them saltwater boils. They used the wind and current to their advantage, heading to the northeast towards Central America.

After setting sail from Falmouth, the Robertsons spent the first 18 months sailing across the Atlantic and stopping at various Caribbean ports. Anne decided to retire from the voyage in the Bahamas and the family welcomed Robin Williams, a 22-year-old Welsh graduate in economics and statistics, to join them on their onward voyage to New Zealand, via the Panama Canal and the Galapagos Islands. One of the daughters, Ann, 18, left the expedition in the Caribbean. In Panama, they took on a young hitchhiker named Robin Williams. Day 23 – Still torrential rain requiring constant bailing. They were in a desperate situation and had to bail for their lives. Douglas told everyone to sing to keep warm. A miracle happened, the wind fell silent, and rain stopped. The wind changed direction. Somehow, they had survived the worst night yet.

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One of the great surprises is that they set off from Falmouth astonishingly unprepared. Dougal was an experienced sailor and Anne had learned the basics, but the children had no experience whatsoever. "I still can't believe that!" cries Douglas. "Why didn't we learn to sail in those quiet waters at Falmouth? We went straight into a force 10 gale and it was horrific. I had no idea what to do."

Lloyd, Oliver C. (18 December 1974). "Wessex Cave Club" (PDF). Wessex Cave Club. 13 (157): 144 – via Google Scholar. The Robertson Family onboard Lucette in Falmouth before departure. Photograph from ‘The Last Voyage of the Lucette’ by Douglas Robertson.He says he tried to tell his father, but "he didn't want to listen. Neither did my mother. I started to tell my mother about it many years later and she said, 'Douglas, don't give me a burden to take to my grave.' So how can you tell parents like that what is happening?" The youngest of eight children, Dougal Robertson had been a master mariner in east Asia, but gave it up after meeting his wife, Lyn, in Hong Kong in 1952 to become a farmer. To understand how the Robertsons survived their ordeal, you only need look at their previous life at Meadows Farm, in Staffordshire. It was a lesson in deprivation. No running water or electricity until Douglas was 10. No TV, set, only paraffin lamps and candles. No money for children's shoes. "Dad's life was terrifically hard," says Douglas. "He was very frustrated – he saw his brothers and sisters sending their children off to university and private school, the sorts of things he was no longer able to provide." Douglas is still critical of this decision. "He was a professional man and he became a farmer. I wish he'd stayed a professional man." The Robertson family at the start of their unforgettable voyage in Falmouth (Image: Photograph from ‘The Last Voyage of the Lucette’ by Douglas Robertson) On 15 June 1972, Lucette was holed by a pod of orcas and sank approximately 200 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. The group of six people on board escaped to an inflatable life raft and a solid-hull dinghy with little in the way of tools or provisions. [3] Day 25 – Food becoming short, but large turtle caught. With more food and water all were improving physically and mentally.