Greenwich2000 - Tourism - Attractions - Gipsy Moth IV
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Gipsy Moth IV
Sir Francis Chichester's single-handed circumnavigation of the globe
1997: 30th Anniversary of this record-breaking achievement
Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich , London SE10
0181-858-3445
Opening hours
1st April - 30th September
Mon. - Sat 10.00 - 17.30
Sun 12.00 - 17.30
In the shadow of the Cutty Sark is this small sailing ketch in which Sir Francis Chichester made the World's first single-handed circumnavigation of the globe (1966-7). Climb on board summer weekends.
Sir Francis Chichester was knighted close to this spot by Queen Elizabeth II using the same sword that Queen Elizabeth I used to knight Sir Francis Drake.
See the small vessel that Chichester said on his return:
"Now that I have finished, I don't know what will become of Gipsy Moth IV. I only own the stern while my cousin owns two thirds. My part, I would sell any day. It would be better if about a third were sawn off. The boat was too big for me. Gipsy Moth IV has no sentimental value for me at all. She is cantankerous and difficult and needs a crew of three - a man to navigate, an elephant to move the tiller and a 3'6" (1.1m) chimpanzee with arms 8' (2.4m) long to get about below and work some of the gear".
Gipsy Moth IV stands close to Cutty Sark in Greenwich, one of the clipper ships that Sir Francis Chichester was emulating. In order to show the magnitude of the size difference please refer to the chart below.
Gipsy Moth IV was designed by John Illingworth and built by Camper and Nicholsons, was never sailed again after Chichester's return. Instead, she became a national monument set in concrete next to the great clipper ship Cutty Sark at Greenwich where she has just been returned after a complete overhaul and rebuild - rotted by rain water and worn out by the millions of visiting boots that have strided her decks in the almost three decades that have passed since Chichester's success. A cut-away of Sir Francis Chichester's ketch is shown below:
Other special features about Gipsy Moth IV and Sir Francis Chichester:
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Gipsy Moth IV achievements
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30th Anniversary of the record-breaking round-the-world voyage
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Sir Francis Chichester pen-picture
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Sir Francis Chichester achievements
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Cutty Sark - Tea Clipper in dry-dock at Greenwich
With thanks to the Chichester archive. Photographic material and originals of text can be obtained from . Please contact them at: [email protected]
