| Year: | 1973–74 Whitbread Round the World Race |
| Edition: | 1st |
| Competitors: | 15 |
| Yachts: | Multi-class |
| Winner: | Sayula II |
| Next: | 1977–78 |
The 1973–74 Whitbread Round the World Race, the first edition of the Whitbread Round the World Race, started off from Portsmouth, England on 8 September 1973. Seventeen yachts of various sizes and rigs took part. During the race three sailors were swept over board and died: Paul Waterhouse, Dominique Guillet and Bernie Hosking. Waterhouse and Guillet were never to be seen again.[1]
The crew of the Mexican yacht Sayula II, a brand new Swan 65 owned and skippered by Mexican Captain Ramón Carlin, won the overall race in 133 days and 13 hours. Her actual time was 152 days.[2] In 2016, this adventure was presented in a documentary film called The Weekend Sailor.[3] [4] [5]
| Leg | Start | Finish | Leg winner | Skipper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth, England | Cape Town, South Africa | Adventure | Patrick Bryans | |
| 2 | Cape Town, South Africa | Sydney | Pen Duick VI | Éric Tabarly | |
| 3 | Sydney | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Great Britain II | Chay Blyth | |
| 4 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Portsmouth, England | Sayula II | Ramón Carlin |
| Overall Pos | Line Honours Pos | Sail Number | Yacht | Country | Yacht Type | LOA (Metres) | Skipper | Elapsed Time d:hh:mm:ss | Corrected time d:hh:mm:ss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | MX 7208 | Sayula II |  Mexico | Sparkman & Stephens Swan 65 | 19.68 | Ramón Carlin | 152:09:11:08 | 133:12:32:43 | |
| 2 | 6 | K 684 | Adventure |  Great Britain | Camper-Nicholson 55 Sloop | 16.76 | Patrick Bryans Malcolm Skene George Vallings Roy Mullender | 162:19:06:30 | 135:08:03:45 | |
| 3 | 5 | F 5959 | Grand Louis |  France | Presles 61 Schooner | 18.59 | André Viant | 162:01:19:00 | 138:14:52:06 | |
| 4 | 3 | F 5784 | Kriter | France | Auzepy-Brenneur 68 Ketch | 20.73 | Jack Grout Alain Gliksman | 156:14:10:03 | 141:01:53:35 | |
| 5 | 7 | I 4971 | Guia |  Italy | Sparkman & Stephens 45 Sloop | 13.72 | Giorgio Falck | 177:19:23:48 | 142:19:20:40 | |
| 6 | 1 | K 3566 | Great Britain II | Great Britain | Gurney 77 Sloop Maxi | 23.52 | Chay Blyth | 144:10:43:44 | 144:10:43:44 | |
| 7 | 4 | K 3560 | Second Life | Great Britain | Van de Stadt Ocean 71 Ketch Maxi | 21.64 | Roddy Ainslie | 161:02:02:04 | 150:08:06:19 | |
| 8 | 10 | I 5905 | CS e RB | Italy | Clark 50 Ketch | 15.24 | Doi Malingri di Bagnolo | 187:00:21:46 | 155:06:57:06 | |
| 9 | 8 | K 3388 | British Soldier | Great Britain | Clark 59 Yawl | 17.98 | John Day G.C. Philp Neil Carlier James Myatt | 179:19:49:53 | 156:20:53:19 | |
| 10 | 9 | I 5551 | Tauranga | Italy | Sparkman & Stephens Swan 55 | 16.03 | Erik Pascoli | 185:20:42:52 | 156:22:23:43 | |
| 11 | 14 | PZ 30 | Copernicus |  Poland | Liskiewicz-Rejewski 45 Ketch | 13.72 | Zygfryd Perlicki | 204:19:48:50 | 166:19:01:22 | |
| 12 | 11 | F 4390 | 33 Export | France | Mauric 57 Yawl | 17.37 | Jean-Pierre Millet Dominque Guillet | 197:10:02:24 | 174:22:28:22 | |
| 13 | 12 | PZ 3 | Otago | Poland | Kujawa 55 Ketch | 16.76 | Zdzislaw Pienkawa | 203:21:31:14 | 178:08:49:10 | |
| 14 | 13 | G 77 | Peter von Danzig | West Germany | Gruber 59 Bermudan Yawl | 17.98 | Reinhard Laucht | 204:15:30:55 | 179:14:50:40 | |
| DNF | 15 | F 5999 | Pen Duick VI | France | Mauric 74 Ketch Maxi | 22.17 | Éric Tabarly | Retired-Leg 3 | ||
| DNF | 16 | K 808 | Burton Cutter | Great Britain | Sharp-Williams 80 Ketch Maxi | 24.38 | Leslie Williams Alan Smith | Retired-Leg 2 | ||
| DNF | NC | F 4279 | Pen Duick III | France | Tabarly 57 Ketch | 17.45 | Marc Linski | Only Competed in Leg 4 | ||
| DNF | NC | 56 | Concorde | France | Auzepy-Brenneur Contessa 32 | 9.75 | Pierre Chassin | Only Competed in Leg 2 | ||
| DNF | NC | SA 7 | Jakaranda | South Africa | Sparkman & Stephen 56 Sloop | 17.07 | John Goodwin | Only Competed in Leg 1 | ||
| References:[6] [7] [8] | ||||||||||
Full details of finishing positions