Treasure from the Sea

Britain's press dubbed it "Chichysteria." The phenomenon quickly produced tea towels, bone-china mugs, picture postcards, model boat kits, jigsaw puzzles, health foods and even pink panties emblazoned with a black anchor--all in tribute to Sir Francis Chichester. The gaunt, 65-year-old mariner, whose solo circumnavigation of the globe ended last week, became the hottest commercial property in hero-starved Britain since Twiggy.

While feeling somewhat uncomfortable amid the ballyhoo ("I honestly can't say that I enjoy mass fame"), Sir Francis suffered the commercial storm with the same aplomb that he displayed in the gale winds of the roaring forties. He willingly endorsed--for varying but plentiful fees--the products of dozens of companies, from Dunlop boots to Tupperware. After all, honoring the sponsors of his trip, he wore Daks slacks on the boat, flourished the coiled emblem of the International Wool Secretariat on his peaked cap, drank Whitbread ale and Squires gin en route and sent regular dispatches to the Times.

A flack newly hired by his business-minded wife, Lady Chichester, admitted: "My job is to keep the name of Sir Francis Chichester alive and to place franchises for carefully selected goods. I have already closed two big deals, and am continually getting more offers." Projects pending include a book and film based on the Chichester exploit. Sir Francis stands to come out decidedly in the black from the perilous 28,500-mile voyage, whose second lap ended, after 119 days, in the red glow of sunset in Plymouth harbor to the cheers of 250,000 assembled Britons.

Still, the simple dignity of the man and the grandeur of his lonely conquest of the sea managed to survive all the hucksterism. "I have no interest in meeting a better class of person than the friends I already have," said Chichester. "I still much prefer to be appreciated by the connoisseurs." The admirers include Queen Elizabeth II, who will formally confer knighthood on Sir Francis next week in an unusual out-of-palace ceremony at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. She will use the same sword presented by Elizabeth I to Sir Francis Drake after he brought home a plundered treasure from the Spanish Main nearly four centuries ago. Chichester's Gipsy Moth IV did not bring back such a glistening cargo; a more modern type of loot awaited her intrepid skipper on shore.

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