THE first man to circumnavigate the globe alone without stopping, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, is to take part in a single-handed round-the-world-yacht race at the age of 67.

Knox-Johnston made nautical history in 1969, when he arrived back in Falmouth, Cornwall, after his first solo round-the-world non-stop sailing voyage in Suhaili, his 32ft ketch. That trip took 313 days, as part of the Golden Globe race, sponsored by The Sunday Times.

In October, he will set off from Bilbao in Spain with more than a dozen other elite sailors in the Velux 5 Oceans, a round-the-world single-handed yacht race.

Knox-Johnston, whose sailor’s beard has turned silver since his first record-breaking voyage, said: “This retirement at 65 business is absolute nonsense. There is at least one good race left in me. I’m going to bloody enjoy it and frighten some of the youngsters — my aim is to take 200 days off Suhaili’s time.”

That would see him return to Bilbao after about 115 days of sailing.

Knox-Johnston said he was determined to win the punishing race. “What I dread most is seeing boats in front of me — that really upsets me. I want to enjoy it, but when the start gun goes off I’ll be in it to win it.”

He added that he had put down a £15,000 deposit for his 60ft racing boat, and will call it “Grey Power, unless a sponsor persuades me otherwise”.

He believes his age will be an advantage. “The sea is all about experience, and I’ve been round the world three-and-a-half times and covered about 500,000 miles in yachts.

“You may slow down a bit, but single-handed sailing is chess with pull-ups — you’ve got to be thinking, it’s about thinking ahead.”

Knox-Johnston’s new boat, a sloop largely made of carbon fibre, will be equipped with the latest gadgetry. He puts Grey Power’s top speed at 30 knots, while Suhaili struggled to go beyond seven knots.

Knox-Johnston’s radio on Suhaili packed up for eight-and-a-half months of the voyage, causing navigation difficulties as he could not obtain time checks. He relied on a barometer taken from the wall of a pub to forecast the weather, steered using a sextant and the sun, and frequently had to re-stitch his torn sails.

Grey Power has four times the sail area of Suhaili, an 84ft mast compared to 45ft, and sails made of Kevlar. Knox-Johnston will set off with a computerised barometer, an auto-pilot, radar to warn of icebergs and GPS positioning equipment.

He will download the latest weather information via satellite and eat freeze-dried food and energy bars and consume energising drinks, compared to tinned food, tea and Bovril on Suhaili.

Grey Power has already won a single-handed round-the-world race, when Giovanni Soldini, Italy’s most famous sailor, piloted it to victory in the 1999 race. The boat was then called Fila.

Knox-Johnston’s company, Clipper Ventures, has taken over the running of the race and secured the sponsorship of Velux, the window firm.

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