Eight bells for Bob Fisher: 1935-2021 0shares
Barry Pickthall collaborated with Bob Fisher on numerous books. He looks back at the life of the sailor and journalist
Bob Fisher s infamous rum punch party aboard Barracuda of Tarrant during the 1991 Cowes Week. Credit: Guy Gurney
He was 85.
Three days before, Sir Ben Ainslie had called him from Auckland where he and his INEOS British America’s Cup team had just won what was probably the most exciting race in the 170-year history for the ‘Auld Mug’ to dedicate their victory to this fabled Cup historian.
He called Bob the ‘doyen of yachting correspondents and a very good yachtsman in his own right. Wherever you went in the world, Bob knew everyone… A real character…just a lovely man,’ said Sir Ben.
Born: Brightlingsea, Essex UK on 20.04.1935
Died: Lymington, Hampshire UK on 25.01.2021
Bob Fisher, the larger-than-life yachtsman, journalist and author crossed the bar peacefully on January 25th surrounded by family. He was 85.
Three days before, Sir Ben Ainslie had called him from Auckland, New Zealand where he and his INEOS Team UK America s Cup team had just won the most exciting race in the 170-year history for the Auld Mug to dedicate their victory to this fabled Cup historian.
Bob Fisher was born and bred in the coastal town of Brightlingsea, Essex UK and made sailing his life. Engaged by stories from the professional Brightlingsea fishermen who crewed the big yachts of their day, including Sir Thomas Sopwith s two British J Class America s Cup challengers Endeavour and Endeavour II in 1934 and 37, he first made a name as a top crew, winning 7 national and world titles in the National Hornet and Fireball high performance dinghy classes. He also won the International
Yachting Monthly 0shares
Disabled sailor Natasha Lambert has become the first person to sail across the Atlantic using just sip and puff technology to control her boat.
Natasha Lambert crossed the Atlantic on her Nautitech Open 46, Blown Away - the largest vessel ever converted to use sip and puff technology. Credit: Natasha Lambert
Natasha Lambert, 23, has become the first person to sail across the Atlantic using just sip and puff technology to control her boat.
The skipper, who has quadriplegic athetoid cerebral palsy which affects her limbs and speech, left from Gran Canaria with her crew as part of the 2020 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) fleet.