Philanthropic New Owner Lets Gipsy Moth IV Yacht Stay With Sailing Academy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Nov 1st 2010 at 8:01PM

The yacht in which Sir Francis Chichester made history in 1967 by sailing around the world singlehandedly has new owners that will enable it to remain in the U.K. We mentioned in September that the Gipsy Moth IV has been listed for sale for £250,000. The yacht is a 54ft Honduras Mahogany ketch that has been restored to the way she was at the time of the record with modern electronics are hidden behind the original control panel.

The United Kingdom Sailing Academy was selling the boat but the new owners have made a deal that will enable the charity to continue to use the boat to help train young sailors. BBC News reports that the ketch will stay at the Sailing Academy headquarters in Cowes. The charity had bought the vessel in 2004 and raised funds for its restoration. In 2007, a group of young people on board to made a second round the world voyage in 2007, sailing back to Plymouth 40 years to the day after its first 30,000-mile (48,300km) adventure. The new owners have chosen to remain anonymous.

Tags: gipsy moth iv, Ketchikan, SailingYacht, yacht for sale