Around-the-World Single-Handed Race : Canadian Sails Dismasted Sloop Around the Horn to the Falklands

Canadian John Hughes, 26, steered his crippled sailboat into port in the Falkland Islands after sailing for 45 days and 4,400 nautical miles without a mast.

Hughes’ 41-foot sloop, Joseph Young, was dismasted Feb. 6, about 1,500 miles east of New Zealand on the third leg of the BOC Challenge single-handed sailing race around the world.

Hughes, 26, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, had exceptional luck on his 400-mile run from Cape Horn to the Falklands. The 35-knot tailwind was perfect for his jury-rigged boat, which had only a small jib sail flying.

With the wind dying shortly before noon Monday, Hughes sailed into East Cove, where a British naval base is located. He took a tow only after he was well within two miles of his goal to avoid breaking a race rule.

He was escorted in by a British patrol vessel. At the dock, he was greeted by naval personnel, headed by Rear Adm. Chris Leyland, the commander of naval forces in the Falklands.

Hughes told of his dismasting by telephone to race headquarters here:

“I was asleep in the quarter berth when the mast broke off at the deck. The bottom of the mast had jumped a foot to port and crashed through the deck. It was rocking around from side to side.”

Hughes cut away the mast before it could go through the hull. As it went overboard, though, it ripped away the safety lines on the starboard side of the boat as well as the bow pulpit.

With the mast and the boom gone, as well as the mainsail and a jib, Hughes said he “erected a spinnaker pole in the cockpit to set a steadying sail to ease the boat’s rolling, and to replace my radio antenna, which had gone overboard with the mast. I was able to contact Hal Roth and Mark Schrader (fellow racers) and pass the word along.”

He then built a jury rig with two spinnaker poles lashed together in an A-frame. The poles’ bottoms rested in coffee cans filled with rags, so they would not damage the deck further.

With a wire to the bow and the stern of the boat from the top of the rig, Hughes still was able to hoist only his smallest jib.

Initially, Hughes headed for Chile, 3,500 miles away and 1,200 miles north of Cape Horn. But he concluded that he could not reach Chile.

“After I headed north, a big high pressure came over me and I ran out of wind,” he said. “Then I started running low on food and water, so I had to change my strategy.

“I had very little sail and my jury rig was very strong, so I changed course and headed for Cape Horn and the Falklands. There is more wind toward the Horn.”

As he drove farther south, Hughes maintained contact with land through a network of amateur radio operators in New Zealand, Chile and the United States, coordinated by Fred Chew of Fall River, Mass.

Bob Rice of Weather Services, Inc., in New Bedford, Mass,, volunteered his time to provide Hughes with up-to-the minute weather forecasts covering the Cape Horn area.

Hughes almost ran out of water, but 400 miles before the Horn he managed to catch some hail and melt it.

“I ran out of water one day before reaching port,” he said. “I’ve been drinking a lot since I got here--lots of water, and getting lots of sleep.”

Hughes said the Cape Horn passage was frightening.

“For a while, I didn’t think I would make it. The winds were blowing more than 50 knots, and the shallow water made each wave break.

“Twice, I was knocked down--giving me a good scare. Everything was a mess inside--broken glass bottles, chutney everywhere and lots of salt water in the boat. The waves were 40-footers, not so big, but every wave was breaking. They were very steep. I was really relieved to get into deeper water.”

Back home, the drama of Hughes’ mastless odyssey caught the attention of fellow Canadians, inspiring them to contribute money to his cause.

A new mast was bought with donations. It was supposed to have arrived by March 22, but engine problems forced a Canadian Air Force transport to miss a connection with the RAF plane that was to fly the spar to the Falklands.

The rig’s late arrival will almost certainly prevent Hughes from making it to Rio de Janeiro by April 11, in time to start the last leg of the race home to Newport, R.I.

Hughes intends to provision his boat for the entire journey to Newport, so that he only has to cross the finish line in Rio before resuming the race.

The racers will begin to arrive home in early May.

The 27,500-nautical mile race started August 30, 1986, with 25 competitors. Sixteen, including Hughes, remain. One boat has sunk; two besides Hughes’ have been dismasted, and one skipper, Jacques de Roux of France, has been lost overboard.

The fleet leader is Philippe Jeantot of France, sailing the 60-foot Credit Agricole III. Jeantot has a three-day lead over fellow Frenchman Titouan Lamazou aboard Ecureuil d’Aquitaine.

The leading American is Guy Bernardin of North Kingston, R.I., who is in fourth place aboard Biscuits Lu. Mike Plant of Jamestown, R.I., leads Class II for yachts up to 50 feet long.