Background and Design
After being nursed back to health from a suspected lung abscess by his wife, Chichester became inspired while writing his book Along the Clipper Way, which charts the voyage taken by 19th century wool clippers returning from Australia. The clippers took an average of 123 days to make their passage, so Chichester set himself the target of making the passage in 100 days.
In 1962 Chichester commissioned Gosport-based ship yard Camper and Nicholsons to build the fourth boat in his series, all named Gipsy Moth. The name originated from the de Havilland Gipsy Moth aircraft in which Chichester completed pioneering work in aerial navigation techniques.
The maximum speed of a yacht is directly related to its wetted length: Gipsy Moth IV is 53 feet (16 m) overall, whereas a clipper ship such as Cutty Sark is 212 feet (65 m). Designed by John Illingworth and Angus Primrose, the boat incorporated the maximum amount of sail for the minimum amount of rigging, whilst employing tiller based self-steering using design principles established by Blondie Hasler that could enable steerage from the skipper's bunk, essential for solo sailing for a voyage of this length.
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