Round the World Non-Stop

He had sailed singlehanded across the Atlantic, rowed across with a companion and competed in the Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race. In the summer of 1983, John Ridgeway sought another challenge. With Briggs, the sailing instructor at his School of Adventure in Scotland, he would circle the globe without touching land; the target, to set a record for fastest passage. They departed from Ardmore, Scotland, on September 1, on the school's 57-foot ketch, English Rose VI. Each man kept a diary; the reader follows the day-by-day progress of the voyage. Briggs's running account of ship maintenance will be of special interest to long-distance sailors; for the older and more experienced Ridgeway, the journey was a period of self-examination. The pair endured physical and mental hardships, extremes of weatherfrustrating calms, violent storms, one near-capsize. In March 1984, English Rose VI and its crew returned to Ardmore after a record 203-day passage. For all sailors, and for landlubbers who enjoy adventure. Photos. January 10