Be sure to read Andy Schell’s article in the March 2013 issue of Spinsheet. In it, Schell relates how Matt plans to sail his newly acquired 42-foot steel-hulled sailboat into the Atlantic Garbage Patch–a region of the Atlantic between Bermuda and the Azores–where currents and weather patterns create a whirlpool-like mess of modern man’s refuse.
Read more about the project at: oceanresearchproject.org
Matt has been so busy writing his book, working on his non-profit, Ocean Research Project, and getting his new boat ready for the next scientific sailing adventure, that he neglected to call The Guinness Book of World Records about his latest trip.
They finally got in touch with Matt and asked him to submit his voyage for certification, which he has done. He is, after all, the first sailor in history to sail solo, non-stop around the Americas. So, raise a draught of Guinness to Matt.
Front Side
The “Jester” Medal is awarded annually by a committee of the Ocean Cruising Club for an outstanding contribution to the art of single-handed sailing. This award has been given out since 2006. Recipients include Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, Mervyn Wheatley, Roger Taylor, and Pete Hill.
From the OCC’s press release:
“Matt Rutherford – ‘Saint Brendan’ – sailed singlehanded and non-stop around the Americas in the face of enormous challenges to benefit CRAB (Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating).
This adventure begins from Annapolis in June of 2011 and is 27,000 nautical miles in total. Arrival at the Northwest passage will be in early August which is only open for six weeks.
Reverse Side
After exiting the Passage, Matt heads for Cape Horn, rounding it by March 1 2012. Then heading north up the east coast of the America’s heading home for Chesapeake Bay, passing the Caribbean before hurricane season. At 80 miles a day, it will take roughly 10 1/2 months… all of this adventure NON-STOP!”
Read more at www.cruisingworld.com/news/matt-rutherford-wins-occs-jester-medal
Read about Blondie Hasler and his boat, Jester, at: www.jesterinfo.org/blondiehasler.html
and www.jesterinfo.org/jester.html
Congratulations, Matt!
American Honda is now a contributing sponsor of Red Dot On the Ocean,
the Matt Rutherford Story.
In April of 2012, Matt Rutherford set a world record for his 27,000 mile solo, non-stop 309 day circumnavigation of the America’s, through the Northwest Passage and around Cape Horn, aboard St. Brendan, a 27 foot Albin Vega sailboat.
Matt Rutherford arrives at City Dock in Annapolis following his circumnavigation of the Americas.
A public high school drop-out, Matt eventually graduated from Eagle Rock School, an innovative, tuition free, private residential high school wholly funded by American Honda. The Eagle Rock experience played a critical role in turning around Matt’s life, instilling in him a passion for nautical history and the environment, and an eagerness to help others through volunteering.
Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center (PDC)
Producer Amy Flannery with Matt and friends at Eagle Rock School, Colorado
Opened in 1993, Eagle Rock School and its Professional Development Center (PDC) has shared its life changing educational methods with more than 10,000 educators from across the United States.
Matt Rutherford’s Return to the Arctic
Andy Schell gives us a prelude to Matt’s plans for returning to the Arctic in the September issue of Spinsheet Magazine, the Chesapeake Bay area sailing mag. (You can read it online.) We learn about Matt’s new non-profit, Ocean Research Project, and his plans to continue the tradition of scientific research under sail.
“Matt’s passion for philanthropy will again be at the heart of the voyage…”
Matt hopes to launch the first expedition as early as Spring 2013.
Matt Rutherford in Good Old Boat Magazine Sept 2012
Check out Steve Allan’s excellent Sailor Profile article, “A Sailor, a boat, and a quest: Matt Rutherford’s most excellent vertical circumnavigation” on page 43 of the Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Good Old Boat Magazine. Steve’s story and Andy Schell’s article in the Sept 2012 issue of SAIL Magazine compliment each other nicely. You’ll learn new information from both.
The last three weeks were the worst–colc air, boarding seas, and stubborn winds on the nose.
… It must be said that Matt had himself a particularly solid little boat in St. Brendan. Vegas are cherished by their owners, the more fanatical among them saying they wouldn’t trust any other boat at sea.
Be sure to catch the feature article on page 46 in the September 2012 issue of SAIL Magazine by Andy Schell, “Mission Accomplished: Matt Rutherford is a better sailor than you are,” about Matt Rutherford and his record-breaking, solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the Americas. Here are a few quotes to wet your appetite…
SAIL Magazine Sept 2012 – Matt Rutherford Article
But Matt wasn’t a better sailor than anyone when he bought his first boat. In fact, he’d hardly ever been out on the water.”
— Andy SchellBefore you leave the dock, you need to accept the fact that you might not come back.” — Matt Rutherford
Near 75 degrees north, as he approached Lancaster Sound, the entrance to the Northwest Passage just west of Greenland, Matt was getting tossed about, trying to dodge icebergs while fighting off sleep deprivation.” — Andy Schell
I looked up out the window, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed this giant white wall outside my window.”
— Matt Rutherrford
