Around Alone, 50 Years On: Sir Francis Chichester’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual

Sailing is still somewhat of a luddite’s pursuit in 2016, but in the 1960s it was even more so. Communication – pre satellite phone – was by radio transmission, weather forecasting was largely guesswork, and navigation was positively 19th-century. GPS was decades away and wayfinding at sea still required the use of a sextant, charts, and a very accurate timepiece. So when Sir Francis Chichester set off from Portsmouth, England, 50 years ago today, on August 27, 1966, he might as well have been sailing back in time.

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