Sir Charles BlythCBEBEM (born 14 May 1940),[1] known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail single-handed non-stop westwards around the world (1971), on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.
With no sailing experience, Blyth competed in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, aboard a 30 ft yacht called Dytiscus. He retired from the race just past the Cape of Good Hope. Author Peter Nichols wrote that, "Few people leaving a dock for an afternoon sail in a dinghy have cast off with less experience than Chay Blyth had when he set sail alone around the world".[3]
Blyth skippered a crew of paratroopers in the yacht Great Britain II, which took line honours in the 3rd stage of the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
1978
He won the Round Britain Race in the yacht Great Britain IV.
1981
Entered the Whitbread race again in the yacht "United Friendly" and was the first British yacht to finish.
Came second again in the Round the Island Race (Isle of Wight).
1982
Came second overall and first in class in the Round Britain and Ireland Race on "Brittany Ferries GB".
1984
Capsized off Cape Horn aboard the trimaran "Beefeater II" while attempting to break the New York – San Francisco record with Eric Blunn. Rescued by passing fishing boat after 19 hours in the water.
1985
Co-skipper with Richard Branson on Virgin Atlantic Challenger I
1986
Co-skipper with Richard Branson on Virgin Atlantic Challenger II
Business careeredit
Blyth founded a company named Challenge Business to organise the 1992/1993 British Steel Challenge in 1989. This event allowed novices to sail around the world in a professionally organised race.[6] After the British Steel Challenge, Global Challenge organized other Round the World yacht races.
The British Steel Challenge was followed by two successive BT Global Challenge races in 1996/97 and 2000/01. However, a downturn in the sponsorship market meant that the 2004/2005 Global Challenge race set off without a title sponsor. In September 2007, Challenge Business went into administration, when Blyth had been unable to find a sponsor for the 2008-09 Global Challenge Race.[6]
While chairman of Challenge Business, Blyth was the mentor for Dee Caffari on her successful bid to be the first woman to sail around the world against the prevailing winds and currents in 2005–2006.
As chairman of Inspiring Performance, Blyth also headed the board of directors of the train operating company First Great Western – Greater Western franchise. He became non-executive chairman of the franchise which was formed to run a new and enlarged service from 1 April 2006. The franchise combines the previous First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains franchises.
chay, blyth, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Chay Blyth news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Sir Charles Blyth CBE BEM born 14 May 1940 1 known as Chay Blyth is a Scottish yachtsman and rower He was the first person to sail single handed non stop westwards around the world 1971 on a 59 foot boat called British Steel SirCharles BlythCBE BEMBorn 1940 05 14 14 May 1940 age 83 OccupationSailorKnown forFirst person to sail single handed non stop westwards around the world Cruise boat Chay Blyth on the Thames in front of Vintners Place Contents 1 Early life 2 Rowing and sailing career 3 Business career 4 Awards and accolades 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editBlyth was born in Hawick Roxburghshire He joined the British Army s Parachute Regiment when he was 18 and was promoted to Sergeant at the age of 21 Rowing and sailing career editYear 1966 Whilst in the army Blyth together with Captain John Ridgway rowed across the North Atlantic in a 20 ft open dory called English Rose III After successfully completing this in 92 days Blyth was awarded the British Empire Medal BEM in the 1967 Birthday Honours 2 1968 With no sailing experience Blyth competed in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race aboard a 30 ft yacht called Dytiscus He retired from the race just past the Cape of Good Hope Author Peter Nichols wrote that Few people leaving a dock for an afternoon sail in a dinghy have cast off with less experience than Chay Blyth had when he set sail alone around the world 3 1971 Blyth became the first person to sail non stop westwards around the world aboard the yacht British Steel taking 292 days and as a result was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE in the 1972 New Year Honours for services to sailing 4 5 1973 Blyth skippered a crew of paratroopers in the yacht Great Britain II which took line honours in the 3rd stage of the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race 1978 He won the Round Britain Race in the yacht Great Britain IV 1981 Entered the Whitbread race again in the yacht United Friendly and was the first British yacht to finish 1981 On the yacht Brittany Ferries GB he won the Two Handed Trans Atlantic Race with co skipper Rob James in record time 1981 Came second again in the Round the Island Race Isle of Wight 1982 Came second overall and first in class in the Round Britain and Ireland Race on Brittany Ferries GB 1984 Capsized off Cape Horn aboard the trimaran Beefeater II while attempting to break the New York San Francisco record with Eric Blunn Rescued by passing fishing boat after 19 hours in the water 1985 Co skipper with Richard Branson on Virgin Atlantic Challenger I 1986 Co skipper with Richard Branson on Virgin Atlantic Challenger IIBusiness career editBlyth founded a company named Challenge Business to organise the 1992 1993 British Steel Challenge in 1989 This event allowed novices to sail around the world in a professionally organised race 6 After the British Steel Challenge Global Challenge organized other Round the World yacht races The British Steel Challenge was followed by two successive BT Global Challenge races in 1996 97 and 2000 01 However a downturn in the sponsorship market meant that the 2004 2005 Global Challenge race set off without a title sponsor In September 2007 Challenge Business went into administration when Blyth had been unable to find a sponsor for the 2008 09 Global Challenge Race 6 While chairman of Challenge Business Blyth was the mentor for Dee Caffari on her successful bid to be the first woman to sail around the world against the prevailing winds and currents in 2005 2006 As chairman of Inspiring Performance Blyth also headed the board of directors of the train operating company First Great Western Greater Western franchise He became non executive chairman of the franchise which was formed to run a new and enlarged service from 1 April 2006 The franchise combines the previous First Great Western First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains franchises Awards and accolades editIn the 1997 Birthday Honours Blyth was created a Knight Bachelor for services to sailing 7 A street has been named after him in his birth town of Hawick known as Chay Blyth Place 3rd Worthing Scout Groups Blyth Cub Pack is named after him Awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from Plymouth University in 1994 The Chartered Institute of Marketing awarded The Companion of Honour to Sir Chay in 2000 for his services to the Profession of Marketing References edit Birthdays today The Telegraph UK 14 May 2013 Archived from the original on 14 May 2013 Sir Chay Blyth round the world yachtsman 73 United Kingdom list No 44326 The London Gazette Supplement 2 June 1952 p 6294 Nichols Peter 2001 A Voyage for Madmen Harper Collins p 56 ISBN 0 7322 7592 X United Kingdom list No 45554 The London Gazette Supplement 31 December 1971 p 8 Blyth Chay 1971 The Impossible Voyage London Hodder amp Stoughton ISBN 0340149205 a b Monthly Yachting 21 April 2008 End of an era Yachting Monthly Retrieved 2 April 2020 United Kingdom list No 54794 The London Gazette Supplement 14 June 1997 pp 1 29 External links editChay Blyth at the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame English Rose III The Circumnavigators Chapter 31 by Don Holm Grant Thornton Press Release British Steel Yacht Homepage lt Broken link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chay Blyth amp oldid 1208785492, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
