26th January 2021
Randall Reeves has been named winner of the 2020 Blue Water Medal by the Cruising Club of America (CCA) for sailing his 45-foot aluminium cutter, Moli, alone around Antarctica and then through the Northwest Passage in a single season departing and arriving from San Francisco.
Reeves, 57, is the first person to imagine and accomplish the 39,000-nautical-mile voyage, which creates a “Figure 8” track around the world, keeping the Americas to port and Antarctica to starboard.
The prestigious Blue Water Medal was first awarded in 1923. It will be formally presented to Reeves at the CCA Annual Awards ceremony, a virtual event this year on March 7. The ceremony will include recognition for winners of other CCA Awards, including 2019 Blue Water Medal winner Jean Luc Van Den Heede, who was unable to attend last year s ceremony.
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Randall Reeves leaves the storm jib in its bag while braving the Southern Ocean to prove that speed is safety when storm sailing
Randall Reeves 45ft heavy displacement expedition sloop Moli with a bone in her teeth in the southern Indian Ocean. Credit: Randall Reeves
Storm sailing lessons learned
The first major blow of my first Figure 8 Voyage attempt – a solo circumnavigation of both the American and Antarctic continents in one season – stated the difficulties of storm sailing well enough, but I missed the clues.
It was December 17, 2017. My 45ft heavy displacement expedition sloop
Moli (
Mo) and I were 49 days out of San Francisco, crossing 52º south and on final approach to Cape Horn, when we were overtaken by an intense low packing steady winds to 50 knots and gusts to 70.