The man

Saga Insurance is proud to sponsor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston as he competes in the VELUX 5 Oceans round the world yacht race.

He set sail in his yacht, Saga Insurance, from Bilbao, Spain, on October 22. At 67, Sir Robin is the oldest – and most-experienced – competitor in the race. His latest solo yachting challenge proves that age is no barrier to achieving your goals. Read more about Sir Robin’s round the world voyage below:

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s – profile

In 1969, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston won the Sunday Times Golden Globe event, making him the first-ever person to sail solo and non-stop round the world.

He has been at the forefront of promoting round-the-world yacht racing for many years, and after his wife sadly passed away in 2003 from ovarian cancer, he decided to take the plunge and return to solo sailing.

Thirty-seven years after first sailing into the history books, the yachting legend is determined to prove that age is no hindrance when he once again takes to sea.

At the age of 67, Sir Robin is the oldest skipper in the fleet of top-flight sailors. He is also the most experienced among them, boasting a long, varied and distinguished career.

In 1983 he was crowned Bull World Champion (Class 2 multihulls). In 1994, he set what was then the record time for the fastest circumnavigation, aboard ENZA, and in total has clocked up 383,000 ocean miles.

In 1970 and 1994 he was voted UK Yachtsman of the Year and was named ISAF Yachtsman of the Year in 1995. However, his honours have not been restricted to his seamanship.

1992 saw Sir Robin invited to become president of youth sailing development organisation, the Sail Training Association. He became a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, serving as Chairman of the Friends for three years, before being appointed Greenwich representative of the Maritime Museum in Falmouth.

His ten years at Greenwich ended in 2002, but he remains a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum at Falmouth, which opened in 2003.

Sir Robin was appointed to the Sports Lottery Panel in 1995, and from 1999 to 2002 he served as a member of the English Sports Council. In 1995 he was knighted for his services to the sport of sailing.

Born on March 17, 1939 in Putney, London, Sir Robin is the eldest of four brothers and went to sea in the Merchant Navy in 1957 as a deck officer. He has one daughter, Sara, born in Bombay in 1963, and five grandchildren. He lists his personal interests as sailing, exploring by boat, maritime history, the marine environment and youth development.

Last time round

In 1969, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person to sail non-stop round the world when he won the Sunday Times Golden Globe. Back then, this achievement took a monumental 312 days.

The previous year, the Sunday Times had announced the creation of the Golden Globe trophy for the first person to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world. The longest non-stop voyage up to then had been achieved by Sir Francis Chichester in 1966-67, when he circumnavigated the world with just one stop in Australia.

Sir Francis’ boat had needed a major refit halfway, and no one was certain a yacht could remain shipshape for 30,000 miles, let alone survive the conditions. However, after Sir Francis, a solo non-stop circumnavigation was the one remaining great voyage to be conquered.