LACA

In 1968, the British Sunday Times sponsored a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race entitled The Golden Globe. Nine sailors entered the race; four sailors dropped out before the race began, one sailor retired after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, one sailor sank with only 1,100 miles to go, one sailor committed suicide, one sailor abandoned the race after seven months alone at sea, and only one sailor completed the trip. Bernard Moitessier was the sailor who, after seven months of no communication with a single human being, decided to abandon the return home and continue sailing. Leaving behind a wife and three children in England, Moitessier decided he could not return to society. He continued sailing for an additional four months until he ran out of supplies. Moitessier circumnavigated the globe almost twice before ending his journey in Tahiti.