Last Voyage of the Lucette: The Full, Previously Untold, Story of the Events First Described by the Author's Father, Dougal Robertson, in Survive the ... Sea. Interwoven with the original narrative.

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After setting sail from Falmouth, the Robertsons spent the first 18 months sailing across the Atlantic and stopping at various Caribbean ports. Anne decided to retire from the voyage in the Bahamas and the family welcomed Robin Williams, a 22-year-old Welsh graduate in economics and statistics, to join them on their onward voyage to New Zealand, via the Panama Canal and the Galapagos Islands. Day 16 – All on board were in very poor physical condition with sores, boils and sunburn. Still raining. The Last Voyage of the Lucette begins with Dougal’s autobiographical account of his experiences during World War II as a young officer aboard a freighter that was sunk by the Japanese, killing his wife and son. After the war he remarried and eventually gave up a life at sea for that of a dairy farmer in England with his new family. We learn about their hardships while trying to survive on the meager profits that life on the farm afforded them, their decision to sail around the world, and their cruise up to the time they were sunk off the Galapagos Islands. In addition to the full text of Survive the Savage Sea, there is some follow-up information on where the family is today, as well as 16 color photographs, several line drawings, and maps of their route. Daddy's a sailor, why don't we sail around the world?' On board their 43-foot schooner Lucette, the Robertson family set sail from the south of England in January 1971 - and in June 1972 Lucette was holed by killer whales and sank in the Pacific Ocean. Four adults and two children survived the next 38 days adrift, first in a rubber life raft and then crammed into a 9-foot fibreglass dinghy, before being rescued by a passing Japanese fishing vessel. This is the story of how they survived, but it also tells of the 18-month voyage of the Lucette, across the Atlantic, around the Caribbean, through the panama Canal and out into the Pacific. Ednamair at National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth where she is on permanent display (Image: Lynn Vosper)

Life on the raft was grim. 'It got holed when we launched it and that hole got worse. We were sitting with the water up to our chest. We had salt-water sores all over us and the heat would be taken out of your body – it was horrible. We used to take it in turns to sit on the thwart [seat] because it was dry, and my mum, God bless her, would say, 'Doug, you take my turn.' And she'd sit in the water for another hour.' Sleep was impossible, because as soon as they nodded off, their heads would hit the water and they'd jump awake. Lyn was terrified that the twins would drown in their sleep.

The Ednamair is on permanent display in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) in Falmouth, which tells the extraordinary story in full. The Roberstons - and the museum - mark three dates each year: the date they left Falmouth on January 27, Sinking Day (as the family call it) on June 13 and Rescue Day on July 23. Turtle became the mainstay of their diet. They ate the meat and eggs and drank the blood. The raft was leaking and they were all sitting in water up to their chests, giving them saltwater boils. They set up a makeshift fishing line but wily sharks stole any fish which were caught.

Day 23 – Still torrential rain requiring constant bailing. They were in a desperate situation and had to bail for their lives. Douglas told everyone to sing to keep warm. A miracle happened, the wind fell silent, and rain stopped. The wind changed direction. Somehow, they had survived the worst night yet. Ednamair towing the raft stern first. Illustration from ‘Survive the Savage Sea’ by Dougal Robertson. He says he tried to tell his father, but "he didn't want to listen. Neither did my mother. I started to tell my mother about it many years later and she said, 'Douglas, don't give me a burden to take to my grave.' So how can you tell parents like that what is happening?" Day 28 – By morning there was a rough southerly swell with 20-foot waves. Continuous bailing needed. Heading north-east.

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On Day 29 Dougal caught a 5ft Mako shark, hauled it on board and cut its head off. The severed head closed its mouth on his hand and drew blood. He kept the teeth as a souvenir. By Day 36 clothes were tattered and threadbare but Lyn washed and mended them - her sewing kit proved a vital lifeline. The twins were very thin by this stage - Neil was emaciated and Sandy had a cough, possibly pneumonia. Every day was a challenge with some days more memorable than others, with details of each day of the ordeal recorded in Dougal’s improvised logbook written with a biro found in Lyn’s sewing box. Yet he reveres his father, too, and aspires to be adventurous like him – although his brother, Neil, confirms that Douglas is a much gentler character. "I haven't undermined my dad – I've championed him for what he did for us. Dad was a very courageous man. He would never have got us home otherwise. But I've shown that he is a human being and he made mistakes." Dougal Robertson died in 1991 but Douglas insists that he had his blessing to write the book. Day 21 – The sea anchor and float broke away. Douglas rowed after it in a feat of sheer endurance, taking 35 minutes of rowing to retrieve it. That afternoon Douglas saw a green flare often used by submarines on manoeuvres, but nothing came of it. Aleph consolidates off Puerto Calero as Charisma eyes the 2023 title The 44Cup Calero Marinas, the final event of the 2023 44Cup, has become a two horse race going into the final day.

Robertson, Douglas (2005), The Last Voyage of the Lucette, Woodbridge, Suffolk: Seafarer Books, ISBN 1-57409-206-5 The Last Voyage of the Lucette’ by Douglas Robertson (2005) – available via our online shop. The Bartlett Blog It all started when Neil Robertson said one day: "Daddy’s a sailor. Why don’t we sail around the world?” And, so, Lyn and Dougal Robertson and their children - Anne, 18, Dougal, 16 and Neil and his twin brother Sandy, nine - decided to do exactly that in their modest sailing yacht Lucette. For many years after the rescue the Edmamair had been in the care of Edna, but later was brought to Falmouth where she had begun her voyage and was donated to National Maritime Museum Cornwall. On 26 November 2008, Douglas Robertson gave a lecture entitled ‘The Last Voyage of the Lucette’ which was held at the museum.Day 33 – Eat or be eaten was the law of survival at sea. Three large dorado were caught, giving much needed fluids, helping to relieve the severe thirst of all. Once on the raft, he and his father came up with the plan that saved their lives: rather than aiming for land, they decided to aim for water – which meant sailing 400 miles north to the Doldrums. On Day 15 Dougal dived in and swam to retrieve the dinghy which had broken free from the raft. Exhausted, he somehow found the strength and escaped the sharks. It was at this stage that Lyn suggested using the water from the bottom of the dinghy in the form of enemas. It was too foul to drink, but would allow their bodies to keep hydrated. Douglas crafted the makeshift equipment and everyone except Robin accepted the enemas. Yet, amazingly, they did survive, and their remarkable story is legendary, inspiring a bestselling book – Survive the Savage Sea by Dougal Robertson – an exhibition and a feature film starring Robert Urich and Ali MacGraw (1992).

Dad always felt guilty,' concludes Douglas. 'He always said, 'I don't know why I did it. I could have taken you to the Mediterranean – that would have done. I didn't have to take you around the world.' But we would say, 'Dad, we survived! You helped us! We did it!' One of the daughters, Ann, 18, left the expedition in the Caribbean. In Panama, they took on a young hitchhiker named Robin Williams. They had no maps, compass or instruments and nobody knew they were missing. Their fight for survival had begun. We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return.Day 18 – A tasty breakfast of flying fish, turtle meat, mixed with pieces of turtle fat. Saw frigate birds and storm petrels. Clothes were disintegrating causing sunburn. Douglas believes his parents never stopped loving each other. Dougal died from cancer, aged 67, and for the last three years of his life, Lyn nursed him at their daughter's house. She died aged 75, also from cancer. Douglas went on to join the navy, and then became an accountant. He has five children from two relationships. While planning to draw up a rowing rota, Dougal spotted a ship coming towards them. He waved a red flare and the torch. The ship gave a prolonged blast on her whistle, they had been seen and they were going to be saved.