BOUND FOR MIAMI
Smallest Boat To Cross Ocean
(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) AGADIR (Morocco), April 6. April Fool—a tiny sailing boat no bigger than a settee —sailed out of the harbour of Agadir yesterday headed westward for Miami, Florida, 5000 miles away. Aboard was Mr Hugo Vihlen, aged 35, a United States airline pilot, who hopes to set a world record for the hazardous solo and non-stop crossing in the smallest vessel.
The harbour master watched him leave and said: “I have been a sailor all my life, but I have never seen anything like this—so crazy.” Mr Vihlen’s plywood and fibreglass craft is just under 6ft long and sft wide at the beam.
Loaded with food and equipment and skipper, it weights only 12201 b. Mr Vihlen, who is married and has a son aged 10, hopes to reach Florida in 55 days. A former United States Marine Corps fighter pilot, he confessed before leaving that he was no sailor.
“It’s not a question of seamanship, but of survival,” he said.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19670408.2.240
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31339, 8 April 1967, Page 23
Word Count
169BOUND FOR MIAMI Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31339, 8 April 1967, Page 23
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.