Gipsy Moth IV anniversary tour

Sailors will have the chance to sail on Sir Francis Chichester’s famous yacht Gipsy Moth IV this summer while she cruises around the UK. The tour is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Chichester’s return from his record-breaking circumnavigation in 1967.

Festivities began with a parade of sail and a fly past of Gipsy Moth and Tiger Moth aeroplanes in Plymouth at the end of May. Gipsy Moth IV will go on to call at ports including Milford Haven, Liverpool, Douglas, Isle of Man, Oban, Stornaway, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Hull, London, Portsmouth, Cowes and Dartmouth, before returning to Plymouth and finally to her home at Buckler’s Hard on the Beaulieu River on 25 July.

Berths on the legs of her voyage are now fully booked, but sailors sail her for a morning, afternoon or evening for a £50 fee through the Gipsy Moth Trust.

Gipsy Moth IV, a 53ft Illingworth and Primrose ketch built by Camper and Nicholsons, was sailed singlehanded around the world by Sir Francis Chichester. With only one stop in Sydney, Australia, he completed the voyage in 1967, returning to Plymouth after 226 days at sea. In the process he set a number of records including fastest voyage around the world by any small vessel, longest non-stop passage that made by a small sailing vessel, and twice broke the record for a singlehander’s weekly run by more than 100 miles.

The yacht was kept in dry dock at Greenwich Maritime Museum until she was renovated after a campaign by

Yachting Monthly and the UK

Gipsy Moth IV is circling the UK 50 years after Chichester sailed her around the world. She will be open to the public