Jon Sanders (born 1939Jon Sanders was sixty six in 2005 in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

) is an Australian yachtsman.

Early years

Born to Colsell Sanders, a professor at the University of Western Australia, and Dorothy Lucie Sanders, a well-known romance novelist, Jonathan William Sanders grew up in Perth and in his teens and twenties, worked with shearing teams for 17 years. Initially he was a wool classer/shearing contractor, shearing team overseer and later owner of his own shearing team. He is characterised by his well-built stature and his shy and reserved demeanour. Jon is a close friend and mentor of fellow Western Australian solo-sailor David Dicks.

Accomplishments

Jon Sanders was the first man to circumnavigate

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

solo, circling the continent twice in 1981 – 1982. For this accomplishment, Gate 17 of the new Antarctica Cup Racetrack has been named after him, with sector 17 named after the S&S 34 monohull ''Perie Banou,'' the yacht he had used during the circumnavigation.It is one of 18 gates and sectors within a circular race track bounded to the north by the

Roaring Forties The Roaring Forties are strong westerlies, westerly winds that occur in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40th parallel south, 40° and 50th parallel south, 50° south. The strong eastward air currents are caused by ...

and the south by the Screaming Sixties latitudes. Sanders Gate is positioned mid-way round the Indian Ocean zone; the gate is close to where Sanders suffered a 180-degree knockdown. During the voyage, he passed south of the three great capes:

Horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

, Good Hope and Leeuwin, before rounding Cape Horn a second time. He turned north to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, UK and returning south around Good Hope and returning to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. This voyage was recognised in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' through the following records: *The first single-handed sailor to remain continuously at sea twice around the world *First single-handed sailor to round the five southernmost Capes twice on one voyage *First single-handed sailor to round the five southernmost Capes twice *Longest distance continuously sailed by any yacht: . *Longest period alone at sea during a continuous voyage: 419 days: 22 hours: 10 minutes In 1986 Sanders set out again from Fremantle, and this time completed three solo non-stop circumnavigations aboard his yacht ''Parry Endeavour'', rounding

Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ort ...

just north of the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

each time to ensure that his course covered both hemispheres. Bob Williams, the Chairman of Antarctica Cup Management and the Antarctica Cup Ocean Race, says: "What Jon achieved during his double circumnavigation in 1981/82 was truly remarkable, given the technology available at the time and size of his yacht. I have had the greatest respect for Jon ever since watching him set off in a full gale off Plymouth at the start of the Parmelia Race in 1979 and was very pleased to be a contributing sponsor for his next yacht ''Parry Endeavour'' in 1986/87. His achievement is an inspiration to all long distance ocean racing sailors and we are very happy to honour Jon now by naming this Gate 17 Sanders Gate and Sector 17 after his yacht ''Perie Banou''" On 2 November 2016, Sanders set out from

Carnarvon, Western Australia Carnarvon ( ) is a coastal town situated approximately north of Perth, in Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The Shark Bay World Heritage Site, world heritage area lies to the south of the town an ...

on his tenth circumnavigation, which he completed on 20 December 2017. On the 31 January 2021 Sanders completed his eleventh circumnavigation, which makes the 81 year old one of the oldest persons to sail singlehanded around the world. ''Parry Endeavour'' is now in the

WA Maritime Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory body, statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, WA Museum Boola Bardip, is located i ...

, in

, Western Australia.

Other recognitions

Sanders was made an Officer in the Order of the British Empire for sailing in the 1983 New Year's Honours. He was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO) in the

1989 Australia Day Honours The 1989 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1989 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen. The Aust ...

for "service to sailing and to marine science". Sanders was inducted into the Single-Handed Sailor's Hall of Fame in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, USA in 1991. Sanders' records include: (From S-HSoF website) * 1970 First solo circumnavigation trip east to west mostly sailing through tropics. * 1981–82 Double nonstop solo circumnavigation west to east via Southern Ocean. * Triple non-stop solo circumnavigation: ** 25 May 1986 left Fremantle headed east. ** 29 January 1987 Rendezvous off Fremantle to mark first circumnavigation. ** 13 March 1988 returned from 657 days 21 hours and 18 minutes at sea, completing three non-stop solo circumnavigations. : ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' cites this as "the longest distance sailed non-stop by any vessel". (71,023 nautical miles) A road in

Osborne Park, Western Australia Osborne Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia in the local government area of the City of Stirling and City of Vincent. History Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher who owned an abattoir and land on Wanneroo Road and ...

bears his name in honour of his sailing accomplishments. In 2018 Sanders was inducted to the

Australian Sailing Hall of Fame Australian Sailing Hall of Fame was established in 2017 by Australian Sailing in collaboration with the Australian National Maritime Museum. There are two nomination categories: the sailor or athlete category; and the general category which recogni ...

References

External links

Other Kinds of Sailing Records

*
"Gate named after Jon Sanders in Antarctica Cup"

* ttp://triplesolo.library.curtin.edu.au/ Triple Solo SailorCurtin University project commemorating the 30th anniversary of Jon Sander's triple circumnavigation of the world. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Jon Australian sailors People from Perth, Western Australia Single-handed circumnavigating sailors Single-handed sailors 1939 births Living people Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of Australia