- Robin Lee Graham
Robin Lee Graham (1949 - ) set out to sail around the world alone as a teenager in the summer of 1965. "
National Geographic Magazine " carried the story, and he co-wrote a book detailing his journey titled, "Dove".Graham was just sixteen when he set out alone from Southern California and headed west in his 24-foot sloop. He picked up two kittens called Kili and Fili (after two dwarves in the Hobbit) for company. He married along the way, and after almost five years, sailed back into his home port in
Los Angeles . After he and his wife, Patti Ratterree, briefly attendedStanford University , they moved toMontana and settled down.Graham's book about his voyage, "Dove", was published in 1972. His voyage was depicted in the film, "The Dove". A followup book, "Home Is The Sailor," was published in 1983.
The Route
Pacific Leg
After a "shakedown cruise" from
San Pedro, California to Hawaii, Dove leftAla Wai Yacht Harbor inHonolulu on Sept. 14th, 1965. Graham's first landfall was 14 days later atFanning Island , a British controlled atoll. His next planned stop wasPago Pago on the Island ofTutuila inAmerican Samoa . A fierce squall demasted Dove and left her unable to reach Pago Pago. Under jury-rig, Dove set course forApia onUpolu ,Western Samoa . Five months later the repaired Dove sailed to Pago Pago to wait out the hurricane season.On May 1st, 1966, Robin Graham sailed Dove to the
Vava'u Group inTonga . On June 21st, Dove sailed toFiji . First toFulanga in theLau Group , thenKabara and then on toSuva in theViti Levu Group . Dove next made its way through theYasawa Group , including theNaviti , Waialailai, Waia, Nalawauki,Tavewa , andYasawa islands.On October 22, Dove set sail for the
New Hebrides , arriving at the capital,Port Vila , four days later. On November 20th, Dove pulled intoHoniara onGuadalcanal in theSolomon Islands . While in the Solomons, Robin visitedFlorida Island ,Savo Island andTulagi Island. After one of Dove's slowest passages, landfall was made atPort Moresby ,New Guinea on March 24th, 1967.Dove left New Guinea on April 18th and arrived in Darwin,
Australia on May 4th.Indian Ocean Leg
On July 6th, 1967, Graham sailed Dove out of Darwin and made 1,900 miles in 18 days to reach
Direction Island in theCocos Islands . Eighteen hours out of the Cocos Islands, Dove was demasted for the second time during a brief storm. Graham sailed under jury rig for 2,300 miles to reachPort Louis Harbor,Mauritius . After repairs, Dove made forReunion Island and then sailed 1,450 miles toDurban ,South Africa .Graham spent nine months in South Africa, calling on ports along the southern edge of the continent including
East London, South Africa ,Port Elizabeth ,Plettenbergbaai ,Knysna ,Stilbaai ,Struisbaai ,Gordon's Bay and finally,Cape Town . He married his girlfriend and went on a honeymoon at Kruger National Park.Atlantic Ocean Leg
On July 13th, 1968, Dove left Cape Town and sailed toward the northern coast of South Africa. On August 5th, Dove made landfall in
Clarence Bay Ascension Island . A week later, Graham sailed Dove out of Clarence Bay and towardsSurinam . On August 31, Dove sailed up theSurinam River to the city ofParamaribo .On October 12, 1968, Dove sailed out of the mouth of the
Suriname River and headed toBarbados . After a month in Barbados, Graham's new boat, Return of Dove, was sailed down from Fort Lauderdale to [St. Thomas, Virgin Islands] . Graham sailed Dove from Barbados to St. Thomas and sold her before continuing his trip in the new, bigger, Return of Dove on November 20, 1969. Eight days later, Graham reached theSan Blas Islands and spent the next two months exploring the islands.After spending Christmas and New Year's Day in Cristobal in the Canal Zone, Return of Dove sailed through the
Panama Canal and reachedBalboa on January 17th, 1970.The Boats - "Big Dove" and "Little Dove"
Robin started his journey on the original "Little Dove" a 24 foot Lapworth sloop. On reaching the Caribbean, Dove was replaced by "Big Dove" a 33 foot Allied Luders sloop. [ [http://www.jarogers.com/dove2.htm Dove] web site.] [ [http://www.alohacouple.com/Dovestory.htm The Return of Dove] web site.]
Dove sank in
Hurricane Marilyn in 1995.The Return of Dove was found in Hawaii by Mark and Beverly Langley in 2000. They restored her in 2001. [ [http://groups.msn.com/ReturnofDove/thefirstfourmonths.msnw Return of Dove] article.] She was sold again in 2004 and is believed to be still in Hawaii. [ [http://www.alohacouple.com/Fullspecs10014.htm Dove sold] article.]
The Return of Dove ("Big Dove") has been sold and is being transported to the mainland. Plans are for the boat to be displayed to the public, along with the opening of a new musical in Atlanta, Georgia in October 2007 about Robin Graham's adventure.Fact|date=February 2007
Bibliography
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* Paperback reprint: cite book|author=Robin Lee Graham|id=ISBN 0-06-092047-5|title=Dove|publisher=Harper Paperbacks|year=1991
*Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.bluemoment.com/dove.html The Schoolboy Circumnavigation]
*.
* The Robin Lee Graham Society: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/robinleegrahamsociety/
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