Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 28, 1993 TAG: 9309280021
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONDON LENGTH: Short
Hugo Vihlen, 61, of Homestead, Fla., left St. John's, Newfoundland, 104 days ago in a sailboat named Father's Day that measured 5 feet 4 inches long. Vihlen, who stands 5 foot 8, said the only way he could stretch out was by standing up when the weather was good.
"It is great to be back on dry land, and I am not going to try anything like this again. In fact, I am flying back first class all the way," Vihlen said after landing at Falmouth, England, where he was greeted by his wife, son and daughter-in-law.
For 25 years, Vihlen held the record for crossing the ocean in the smallest boat, which was 6 feet long. That record was broken in May by Tom McNally of Liverpool, England, who sailed from the Portuguese island of Madeira to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in a boat a half-inch longer than Father's Day.
Vihlen took enough food with him to last 85 days and was given more supplies by a passing French ship.
"But I have still lost a lot of weight after being on half rations for long periods and I am looking forward to having some fish and chips," he said.
by CNB