Conny van Rietschoten facts for kids
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Conny van Rietschoten (1982)
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Flying Dutchman |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Born | 26 March 1926 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Died | 17 December 2013 (aged 87) Portugal |
Cornelis "Conny" van Rietschoten (born March 23, 1926 – died December 17, 2013) was a famous Dutch yacht skipper. He is the only person to have won the tough Whitbread Round the World Race twice. This race is a sailing competition around the world!
Contents
Early Life and Sailing Dreams
Conny van Rietschoten was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He started sailing when he was only three years old! He loved the sea and continued sailing for many years.
In the early 1960s, Conny had to stop sailing and working for a while because he became ill. After he recovered, he put all his energy into his family's electrical engineering business.
Conny's father, Jan Jacob, had always dreamed of sailing around the world. But he never found the time to do it. Conny would later make this dream come true.
Conquering the Whitbread Race
When Conny was 45, he decided to retire from his business. He was looking for an exciting new challenge. He had heard about the first Whitbread Race and saw it as a huge opportunity. He decided to go for it!
Before this, Conny wasn't very well known in the sailing world. But he quickly showed everyone how skilled he was.
A Professional Approach to Sailing
What made Conny van Rietschoten stand out was his very professional way of preparing for races. He treated his sailing campaigns like a serious business project. This was different from how many other sailors approached ocean racing back then.
Conny was one of the first to do lots of practice runs and train his crew very well before a race. He also invested in new ideas. This included better clothing for his crew, improved boat parts (called rigs), and advanced weather forecasting techniques.
Winning with Flyer (1977-78)
For his first Whitbread yacht, Conny asked American designers Sparkman & Stephens to create a new boat. It was a more modern version of a successful yacht called Sayula II.
His new boat was named Flyer. It was built from aluminum and was a type of boat called a ketch. It had a longer waterline and more sail area, which helped it go faster.
The 1977-78 Whitbread Race had four legs, or stages:
- Leg 1: Portsmouth to Cape Town
* After winning a race across the Atlantic, Flyer's main rival was a British yacht called King's Legend. * Near Cape Town, the two boats were so close they could see each other! * Flyer managed to pull ahead and win the first leg by just over 2 hours.
- Leg 2: Cape Town to Auckland
* King's Legend took the lead early in this leg, sailing across the Southern Ocean. * But then King's Legend had a leak, which slowed them down. * Flyers crew worked hard and cut King's Legends lead to only 1 hour and 15 minutes by the finish line in Auckland.
- Leg 3: Auckland to Rio de Janeiro
* This leg went around the famous Cape Horn, a very dangerous part of the ocean. * King's Legend had a problem where water damaged their radio. * Without weather forecasts, King's Legend fell far behind. Flyer finished almost 60 hours ahead!
- Leg 4: Rio de Janeiro to Portsmouth
* On the final leg, Conny and his crew just needed to stay close to King's Legend. * They finished about 2 hours behind the British yacht but still won the entire Whitbread Race based on their overall time (called handicap).
Winning Again with Flyer II (1981-82)
In the 1981-82 Whitbread Race, Conny van Rietschoten sailed a new, larger boat called Flyer II. This time, his main competitor was Ceramco New Zealand, skippered by the famous Peter Blake.
- Leg 1: Portsmouth to Cape Town
* Ceramco New Zealand lost its mast during the first leg. * This gave Flyer II an easy win on this stage to Cape Town.
- The Rest of the Race
* After the first leg, Flyer II and Ceramco New Zealand raced very closely around the rest of the world. They were often neck-and-neck!
A True Leader's Spirit
During this race, Conny van Rietschoten showed how incredibly determined he was. While deep in the Southern Ocean, on the way to Auckland, he had a health scare.
Conny made his crew promise to keep it a secret. He didn't even let the doctor on board ask for advice from the doctor on the rival boat, Ceramco. He knew that if his competitors found out, they would push even harder to win. Conny was determined that Flyer II would win, no matter what.
Close Finish and Records
- Flyer II managed to get a 9-hour lead by Auckland.
- The race from Auckland to Cape Horn was a constant battle for the lead.
- Halfway across the Pacific Ocean, the two boats were so close they could see each other. They even rounded Cape Horn together!
- Flyer II reached Mar del Plata first.
Conny van Rietschoten and his crew finished first again back in Portsmouth. They were the first crew in the history of the Whitbread Race to win both the "line honours" (meaning they finished first) and the "handicap honours" (meaning they won based on overall time).
Flyer II also set two new world records:
- The fastest distance sailed in 24 hours: 327 miles.
- The fastest circumnavigation (sailing around the world): 120 days.
Other Achievements
In 1948, Conny van Rietschoten and his friend Morin Scott sailed their yacht Gerda from England to Norway. They were competing in a world championship. They didn't win the championship, but the Crown Prince of Norway praised them for sailing the furthest distance to get to the race!
Conny van Rietschoten passed away in Portugal on December 17, 2013.
Legacy
Since the 1980s, the Conny van Rietschoten Trophy has been awarded every year. It recognizes the best Dutch sailor, keeping Conny's amazing spirit alive.
