John Manfield Ridgway (born 8 July 1938) is a British

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

sman and rower.

Biography

Ridgway was educated at the Pangbourne Nautical College and the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. In 1966, whilst a Captain in the Parachute Regiment, Ridgway, together with

Chay Blyth Sir Charles Blyth (born 14 May 1940), known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail single-handed non-stop westwards around the world (1971), on a 59-foot boat called ''British Steel (yacht), British ...

, rowed across the North Atlantic in a 20 ft open

dory Dory most commonly refers to: * Dory (boat), a small, shallow-draft boat * Dory, the common name of several fish; see List of fishes known as dory * Dory (''Finding Nemo''), a fictional character Dory may also refer to: Arts and entertainmen ...

called English Rose III. They successfully completed this in 92 days as second team after George Harbo and Frank Samuelsen in 1896. In 1967 Ridgway and Blyth were awarded the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service for their trip which had until then been considered impossible. In 1964, he married Marie Christine d’Albiac, daughter of Air Marshal Sir

John d'Albiac Air Marshal Sir John Henry D'Albiac, (28 January 1894 – 20 August 1963) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Notably he was the British air commander for the Battle of Greece. Biography D'Albiac was e ...

. Ridgway entered the

Sunday Times Golden Globe Race The ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first non-stop round-the-world yacht race. The race was controversial due to the failure of most competitors t ...

in 1968 with his sloop English Rose IV, in an attempt to become the first person to sail single-handed non-stop around the world, but retired from the race in

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In 1969, he founded the John Ridgway School of Adventure at Ardmore, Sutherland,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is now managed by his daughter, Rebecca. In 1977–78 Ridgway raced his yacht Debenhams in the

Whitbread Round the World Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean Ra ...

. In 1983/4, Ridgway and Andy Briggs sailed the school's 57-foot

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch f ...

, English Rose VI, in a non-stop passage round the world, setting (what was then) a 203-day record. In 1987, he was awarded the Mungo Park Medal of the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

. In 2003/4, Ridgway circumnavigated the globe in English Rose VI, a campaign under the flag of the

UN Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on t ...

to highlight the plight of albatrosses. Ridgway served with the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

(SAS).

Bibliography

* '' A Fighting Chance.'' with Chay Blyth, Pan Books / Readers Book Club, 1966, . * '' Journey to Ardmore.'' Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1971, . * '' Cockleshell Journey: The adventures of three men and a girl.'' Travel Book Club, 1975, . * '' Storm Passage: A Winter's Voyage to the Sun.'' Quality Book Club, 1977, . * '' Round the World with John Ridgway.'' with Marie C. Ridgway, William Heinemann Ltd, 1978, . * '' Round the World Non-Stop.'' with Andrew Briggs, Round the World Non-Stop, 1985, . * '' Road to Osambre.'' 1986, . * ''

Flood Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

.'' Hodder & Stoughton, 1989, . * '' Then We Sailed Away.'' with Marie C. Ridgway and Rebecca Ridgway, Little Brown, 1996, .

References

External links

John and Marie Christine Ridgway biographiesSave The Albatross campaign site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridgway, John English male rowers English male sailors (sport) Ocean rowers Single-handed sailors British Parachute Regiment officers 1938 births Living people People educated at Pangbourne College Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Members of the Order of the British Empire Volvo Ocean Race sailors