Recognition for Australian solo circumnavigator Bill Nance
In 1965, Bill Nance became the first Australian skipper to sail solo around the world, and only the fourth man to have sailed alone past Cape Horn, beating the likes of Sir Robin Knoxjohnston and Sir Francis Chichester. Now, 54 years later, the 81-year-old has finally been recognised by his country for his sailing achievements aboard his 25-foot yacht, Cardinal Vertue, and has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Nance was just 23 when he left the UK for Australia, having bought Cardinal Vertue from Dr David Lewis, who sailed the yacht in the first Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race in 1960. Nance sailed from England to Buenos Aires in Argentina in 61 days and then continued to Cape Town. Storms mid-way across the Indian Ocean at Saint Paul Island left Cardinal Vertue knocked down and dismasted, but Nance continued, sailing the remaining 2,000 miles under jury rig. He arrived at Fremantle, Western Australia, in 36 days. With a new mast, he continued on to Melbourne, before being forced to leave Australia due to immigration problems. He continued to New Zealand, where he remained working and sailing for two years, before departing Auckland in December 1964. He passed Cape Horn on 7 January 1965, the youngest skipper to have conquered the iconic landmark, and in the smallest boat. His voyage ended in Buenos Aires.
Nance said he was ‘honoured’ to have received the award and pleased that ‘an important part of post WWII Australian maritime history will be recorded for future generations.’
Murray Shaw, who helped tow Nance to a safe berth when he arrived under jury rig in Fremantle in 1963, nominated him for the medal, backed by the author Nicholas Gray, who charts Nance’s journey in his book, Astronauts of Cape Horn. Gray said the award was ‘long overdue’ and ‘richly deserved’ by Nance.