Honour for long distance sailor trevor robertson
Trevor Robertson has been awarded the Royal Cruising Club’s Medal for Seamanship for his solo voyage from New Zealand to Ireland in his 35ft Wylo steel gaff cutter Iron Bark.
The skipper crossed all climatic zones in his 16,270mile trip, which saw him sail from The Bay of Islands in New Zealand to Antarctica in 60 days. After a short stay the Australian sailor continued his journey, stopping at the Falkland Islands before continuing up into the Atlantic to Ireland, arriving at Bantry Bay on 8 June 2018, 96 days after leaving Britain’s south Atlantic outpost. He also receives the Irish Cruising Club Decanter for his log of the voyage at iron-bark.blogspot.com
Robertson, who built Iron Bark himself, has been sailing the world since the mid-1970s. He has spent winters aboard Iron Bark, unsupported, with the cutter frozen in the ice of Antarctica and Greenland. n Mike Jacques received the Tilman Medal for an outstanding voyage to remote places in high latitudes. He sailed his 50ft Umiak to the east coast of Greenland into the huge Scoresby Sound, Liverpool Land and further up the ice-bound coast to King Oscar’s Sound. The expedition was carefully planned, including rehearsing dinghy operations, crevasse rescue and rifle shooting in case of polar bears. Together with his crew, Jacques conquered 16 peaks, all believed to have been previously unclimbed. He also received the Challenge Cup for his account of the voyage. n St Petersburg’s Vladimir Ivankiv was named the recipient of the club’s Services to Cruising Medal for his assistance to sailors navigating Russian waters. n Jonno Barrett, who sailed to the Baltic via North Cape and Russia in his 1963 wooden cutter Whilaway received the Royal Cork Yacht Club Vase for exceptional merit. n Jo Winter was awarded the Romola Cup for her voyage through Japan to Alaska, while Clive Woodman and Angela Lillienthal were awarded the Cruising Club of America Bowl for their contribution of pilotage information.