What a great excitement monday afternoon on the dock of the Port Olona visitors to Les Sables D’Olonne. The legendary Sir Robin Knox Johnston arrived at the helm of his trusty and equally legendary 32-foot ketch Suhaili, the same boat that was able to accomplish the feat to circumnavigate the earth solo non-stop after 312 days at sea!
The Englishman was expected by another sailor, a pioneer of the ocean like him, the Italian Alessandro Di Benedetto, holder of the world record of the world tour on a boat of 6.50 m, in just over 268 days.
“This is the first time I met him, it was very exciting for me, told us the skipper of Team Plastique.
We had communicated via e-mail after my record. I had been honored by a quote in my book where he said that sailing around the world solo is the most difficult challenge for a sailor, and if carried out on a small boat, and with so many problems to overcome, becomes truly an incredible limit! I went to greet him on arrival at the end of the canal, it was a fantastic experience!”