Vito Dumas
Vito Dumas (September 26, 1900 - March 28, 1965) was an Argentine single-handed sailor.
In 1942, while the world was in the depths of World War II, he set out on a single-handed circumnavigation of the Southern Ocean. He left Buenos Aires in June, sailing LEHG II, a 31-foot ketch an acronym representing "four names which marked my life". He had only the most basic and makeshift gear; he had no radio, for fear of being shot as a spy, and was forced to stuff his clothes with newspaper to keep warm.
With only three landfalls, the legs of his trip were the longest that had been made by a single-hander, and in the most ferocious oceans on the Earth; but most of all, it was a powerful retort to a world which had chosen to divide itself by war.[1]
He donated his boat to the Argentine Navy for training, but after a few years it was neglected, broke its mooring chain, and was wrecked on the rocky shore. A wealthy Argentine yachtsman paid to have it restored and donated it to the Argentina Naval Museum in Tigre, a nautical river town on a backwater of the River Plate. The Lehg II is now on display in Tigre, which is a short train ride from Buenos Aires.
[edit] References
- ^ Alone Through The Roaring Forties, Vito Dumas; McGraw-Hill Education, 2001. ISBN 0-07-137611-9
- Bertolino, Jorge Mario. "Navegante Vito Dumas". http://www.navegantevitodumas.com.ar/. Retrieved 2006-11-10. (Spanish)
[edit] External links
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