Sailor Tells His Story at Royal Victoria Yacht Club (RVicYC), B.C.
Glen Wakefield struggled emotionally, but was able to tell his story for the first time to members of the Bluewater Cruising Association (BCA). Wakefield had painstakingly refurbished and modified his 40-foot sloop, a Hong Kong-built Cheoy Lee named Kim Chow during the course of four years. He attempted a solo, non-stop circumnavigation west from Victoria in September 2007, but endured a roll-over after fighting against the prevalent trade winds and currents for 218 days. An audience of more than a hundred BCA and RVicYC members were joined by Wakefield’s mother, wife and one of his daughters as the 50-plus-year-old sailor expounded on a slide show depicting his journey. As he described the false step leading to the capsizing of Kim Chow, he was overcome and took a break before recovering. Despite high wind warnings, he had declined to deploy his drogue – a parachute-like device that slows a boat down in a storm so it will not surf down one wave and nose-dive into the next. After regaining consciousness more than 24 hours later and assessing his situation, Wakefield made a decision to abandon his vessel and was rescued by the Argentine Coast Guard. Among the several lessons he learned was the essential value of maintaining communications through his HAM radio.
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