Gerry Hughes (sailor)

Last updated

Gerry Hughes is a British sailor who became the first profoundly deaf man to sail single-handed across the Atlantic Ocean. He crossed the finishing line off Castle Hill, Newport at 11:30 am local time (4:30 pm UTC) on Saturday 3 July 2005 after 35 days of sailing. [1] Hughes also became the world's first deaf yachtsman to sail single-handed around the world [2] to pass the five great capes. He departed Troon, Scotland on 1 September 2012 and returned to Troon on 8 May 2013. [3] Dr Hughes was added as number 202 on Sir Robin Knox-Johnston's list of elite solo circumnavigators [4] - In 2019 Gerry Hughes published a book about his life called 'Bridging Our Differences'. [5]

Contents

Biography

Gerry Hughes was born in Glasgow. He was profoundly deaf from birth. His father was a skilled sailor and Gerry enjoyed boating with him from around 2 years old in Largs, Rhu and Inverkip. At age 2 and a half, he was enrolled at St. Vincent's School for the Deaf. At thirteen Gerry began his schooling at St. John's School for the Deaf, Boston Spa, Yorkshire. He went on to attend Norfolk House College for the Deaf where he studied City and Guilds for London Institute Mechanical Engineering Part One Certificate, 'A' Level Technical Drawing, and ‘O’ Level Mathematics and Physics. During his time at Norfolk House, Gerry became captain for Surbiton Football Club. In his teenage years he was involved with a group of deaf sailors in the south of England and sailed across the English Channel. He became the first deaf skipper to sail around the British Isles, in 1981. [6]

Gerry was a research associate for the British Sign Language Research Project (BSL) at Moray House College of Education working with Mary Brennan and Martin Colville. [7]

Gerry went on to found a school for hearing and deaf people called ‘Quest for Language’ [8] while at the same time studying towards a degree in mathematics from the Open University. [9] In 1991, Gerry was offered a position as graduate instructor at St Vincent's School for the Deaf. After almost eighteen years from his first application to teacher training college, after being initially blocked from studying, and having to seek legal help, Gerry joined the PGCE course at St Andrew's College, Glasgow, to train as a secondary school teacher in mathematics. In 1995 he qualified as a teacher. He later became acting head of Donaldson's School for the Deaf in Edinburgh. [10] Gerry later went on to teach at St Roch's Secondary School in Glasgow. [11] [12]

Single-handed trans-Atlantic race

In August 2004, Hughes bought a 23-year-old, 34-foot yacht. He named the yacht Quest II. [13] [14]

Hughes set off from Portsmouth in Quest II, but was forced to call at Cork in Ireland for repairs due to a failure of battery power. Out in the Atlantic, a few days later, the battery power failed again, resulting is the loss of use of his navigation lights, generator, laptop computer and mobile phone. He continued, making use of an oil lamp.

When he eventually reached USA waters he was able to ask directions from a passing speed-boat encountered in fog. He reached Newport successfully when the fog had cleared. [15]

Sailing around the world

On 1 September 2012 Hughes left Troon, Scotland to start his eight-month journey across the world. Hughes travel around the world solo, sailed 32,000 miles and became the first deaf yachtsman to passed all five southernmost capes - Cape Agulhas, Cape Leeuwin, South East Cape, South West Cape and Cape Horn. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vendée Globe</span> Yacht race

The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France, where the race starts and ends. The Vendée Globe is considered an extreme quest of individual endurance and the ultimate test in ocean racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Knox-Johnston</span> British yacht racer (born 1939)

Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won the second Jules Verne Trophy, for which they were also named the ISAF Yachtsman of the Year award. In 2007, at the age of 67, he set a record as the oldest yachtsman to complete a round the world solo voyage in the Velux 5 Oceans Race.

Minoru Saitō(斉藤 実, born January 7, 1934) is a Japanese solo yachtsman and one of the most notable veteran ocean sailboat racers in the world. He became the oldest person at age 77 to do a solo circumnavigation of the globe. He has successfully made eight solo circumnavigations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Sanders</span>

Jon Sanders is an Australian yachtsman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Gerbault</span>

Alain Jacques Georges Marie Gerbault was a French Sailor, writer and tennis champion, who made a circumnavigation of the world as a single-handed sailor. He eventually settled in the islands of south Pacific Ocean, where he wrote several books about the islanders' way of life. As a tennis player he was ranked the fifth on the French rankings in 1923.

The sport and practice of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember. The term usually refers to ocean and long-distance sailing and is used in competitive sailing and among Cruisers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Golding</span>

Mike Golding is an English yachtsman, born in Great Yarmouth and educated at Reading Blue Coat School. He is one of the few yachtsmen to have raced round the world non stop in both directions. He held the solo record for sailing round the world westabout between 1994 and 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Perham</span> English sailor and adventurer

Michael Perham is an English sailor and adventurer from Potters Bar. In 2007 at the age of 14 he became the youngest person in the world to successfully sail across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly, beating the record set in 2003 by British sailor Seb Clover. In 2009 at the age of 17 he became the youngest person to sail around the world solo. Perham's second record surpassed that of Zac Sunderland, an older 17-year-old American, set only six weeks earlier. Following this, Perham's adventures included driving around the world and racing in many offshore races, most notably the Sydney to Hobart yacht race in 2011 where his team placed second in class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Scott Cowper</span>

David Scott Cowper is a British yachtsman, and was the first man to sail solo round the world in both directions and was also the first to successfully sail around the world via the Northwest Passage single-handed.

Adrian Flanagan is a British author, sailor and sculptor. On 21 May 2008, Flanagan achieved the first ever single-handed vertical circumnavigation of the globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zac Sunderland</span> American former sailor (born 1991)

Zachary Tristan Sunderland is an American former sailor who was the first person under the age of 18 to sail solo around the world. Sunderland completed his trip after 13 months and 2 days at sea on July 16, 2009 at age 17. The record was previously held by Australian David Dicks, and was surpassed on August 27, 2009 by Michael Perham of England. Sunderland is the youngest American to complete a circumnavigation, surpassing Brian Caldwell, who finished in 1996 at age 20. However, Sunderland's record was not recognized by Guinness World Records, or by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samantha Davies (sailor)</span> English yachtswoman

Samantha "Sam" Davies is an English yachtswoman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Read (sailor)</span> American yachtsman (born 1961)

Kenneth Read is an American yachtsman who is considered one of the world's most accomplished and celebrated sailors. He was named United States Rolex Yachtsman of the Year twice, and has won more than 50 world, North American, and national championships in a variety of classes, with eleven of those being World Championships titles in the J/24, Etchells 22 and yacht classes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Around the world sailing record</span>

The first around the world sailing record for circumnavigation of the world was Juan Sebastián Elcano and the remaining members of Ferdinand Magellan's crew who completed their journey in 1522. The first solo record was set by Joshua Slocum in the Spray (1898).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Dekker</span> New Zealand-born Dutch solo sailor

Laura Dekker is a New Zealand-born Dutch sailor. In 2009, she announced her plan to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe single-handed. A Dutch court stepped in, owing to the objections of the local authorities, and prevented Laura from departing while under shared custody of both her parents. In July 2010, a Dutch family court ended this custody arrangement, and the record-breaking attempt finally began on 21 August 2010. Dekker successfully completed the solo circumnavigation in a 12.4-metre (40 ft) two-masted ketch named Guppy, arriving in Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten, 518 days later at the age of 16.

Edward Cecil Allcard was an English naval architect, marine surveyor, yachtsman and author. He was the first person to cross the Atlantic single-handed in both directions, and wrote several books about his pioneering sailing adventures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith White (yachtsman)</span> British yachtsman (died 2019)

Keith White was a British yachtsman. In October 2015 he set out on a non-stop solo circumnavigation of the world in his yacht, the Marathon, in part to raise funds for charity. White, who was disabled, lost the use of his left arm in 1991 due to a road traffic accident. A sailor since he was 16 years old, he achieved some significant firsts with his circumnavigation of the UK and Ireland, and his circuit of the Atlantic.

Vincent Marc Thierry Lauwers is an Australian round-the-world yachtsman. In 2000 he became the first paraplegic sailor to sail solo, non-stop around the world. In 2001, he won the Laureus Award for "Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abhilash Tomy</span> Indian naval officer and yachtsman

Commander Abhilash Tomy, KC, NM (Retd) is a retired Indian Navy officer, naval aviator and yachtsman. In 2013, he became the first Indian to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world under sail. He also competed in the 2018 Golden Globe Race. In January 2021, he retired from military service to concentrate on the 2022 Golden Globe Race. He finished second in the race, becoming the only Asian skipper to win a podium finish in a round the world race.

References

  1. ↑ "BBC See Hear". Vimeo. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  2. ↑ "Gerry Hughes becomes first deaf person to sail round the world". BBC News. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Disability News: Gerry Hughes Becomes First Deaf Person to Sail Round the World". Able News. BBC News . Retrieved 4 December 2015. His solo-circumnavigation lasted eight months and covered more than 32,000 miles, during which time he endured a capsize and equipment problems.
  4. ↑ "SOLO CIRCUMNAVIGATORS". www.robinknox-johnston.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Bridging Our Differences by Gerry S M Hughes. ASIN   1789557720.
  6. ↑ "Gerry's Life". gerryhughes.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  7. ↑ "In Memoriam: Mary Brennan, 1944-2005". researchgate.net. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Hughes, Gerry S M (24 October 2019). Bridging Our Differences. New Generation Publishing. p. 59. ISBN   978-1-78955-773-2.
  9. ↑ "Fireball Signs into Science". Compute Scotland. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  10. ↑ "Tessa Padden meets the first Deaf person to sail solo round the world". BSLZone.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "Update from Gerry's wife Kay at St Roch's School". gerrysmhughes.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  12. ↑ "St Roch's Secondary teacher Gerry Hughes circumnavigated the earth in his vessel Quest III". Kirkintilloch-herald.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  13. ↑ "Tessa Padden meets the first Deaf person to sail solo round the world. Part 2". BSLzone.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "I felt that for the first time I had got through the barriers". The Herald. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  15. ↑ Burnside, Anna (2005-08-21). "A Question of Sink or Sail". The Sunday Times .


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.