Derring-do off Cape Horn

Practically all of Fleet Street rushed to Punta Arenas, Chile, the world's southernmost city. Sir Francis Chichester, 65, the intrepid, unwavering yachtsman, was approaching Cape Horn--one of the most hazardous passages of his solo trip around the world in the 50-ft. ketch Gipsy Moth IV. Some 30 newsmen were on hand, most with little knowledge about exactly where Sir Francis was and less about how to find him. They set up a pool arrangement under which a few reporters and photographers would be put aboard a British frigate to pursue Gipsy Moth.

The London Times was not content with just a pool. The Sunday Times and the daily Times had bought exclusive rights to Chichester's own account and had assigned a go-for-broke Australian, Murray Sayle, to handle the story. Sayle hired his own plane, lined up a Chilean pilot named Rodolfo Fuenzalida, whose normal work is to spot schools of fish. Fuenzalida had no hesitation about taking the job, even though the Chilean air force forbids its pilots to fly south of the cape for fear of violent winds. Despite the danger of overloading his Piper Apache, Fuenzalida squeezed in two extra passengers, BBC Reporter Clifford Luton and BBC Cameraman Peter Beggin.

After three futile attempts to find Chichester, the group gave it one last try. They could not have picked a worse day. They flew through a driving rainstorm and gale winds; the ceiling was 600 feet. But 20 miles south of the Cape, they finally spotted Chichester, making about eight knots under a jib that looked the size of a bath towel. Huddled under the storm cover in the cockpit, Chichester waved. Fuenzalida made six passes at 60 feet. Luton was so excited that he recorded a complete commentary before he noticed that he had no tape in his recorder. In order to get pictures, Sayle and Beggin took turns switching seats with Fuenzalida. In the shuffle, Beggin kicked off the fuel control. Fuenzalida noticed it in time, switched the gas back on.

After a torturous half-hour, Fuenzalida nosed up through the buffeting winds and started back for Punta Arenas. Over the Strait of Magellan, the oil pressure in the right engine dropped to zero, forcing Fuenzalida to turn it off. The Piper lost altitude gradually, just made the runway. Sayle headed straight for the nearest wirephoto machine in Santiago, and next morning the Times splashed its scoop on the front page along with Sayle's pictures. Wrote Sayle: "The sight of Gipsy Moth plowing bravely through the wilderness of rain and sea was well worth it."

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