On this day in UK history - 12th December

On this day in UK history: 

12th December 1966 English sailor Francis Chichester arrived at Sydney in his ketch Gipsy Moth IV - half way in his bid to become the first man to sail solo around the world. 

On 28 May 1967, after 226 days, he arrived back in Portsmouth and became the first person to achieve a true, solo, circumnavigation of the world from West to East via the great capes. The voyage was also a race against the clock as Chichester wanted to better the typical times achieved by the fastest fully crewed clipper ships during the heyday of commercial sail in the 19th century.

Thanks to: http://www.beautifulbritain.co.uk/htm/onthisday/onthisday.htm

For more information about Sir Francis Chichester check out the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Chichester

Sir Francis Chichester aboard Gypsy Moth IV