Ride on the Wind

Sir Francis Chichester was an aviator and sailor, best known for being the first and fastest person to sail around the globe single-handedly in The Gipsy Moth IV. Following this achievement, he wrote several books and made films about his sailing experiences.

Born in Devon and educated at Marlborough College, Chichester emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 18 and spent ten years in forestry, mining, and property development. Upon his return to England, he learned to fly. In the original Gipsy Moth seaplane, he became the first person to complete an East-West solo flight across the Tasman Sea, for which he was awarded the inaugural Amy Johnson Memorial Trophy.

Chichester wrote many popular books on his air adventures. During WWII, he authored the manual used by single-man fighter pilots to navigate across Europe. In 1964, Chichester published his autobiography, the bestselling The Lonely Sea and the Sky, and was knighted three years later for ‘individual achievement and sustained endeavour in the navigation and seamanship of small craft’.

Chichester utilized his navigation experience to establish a successful map-making company, Francis Chichester Ltd, which continues to publish pocket guides and maps sold worldwide.