Gerry Spiess

Gerry Spiess
Born
Gerald F. Spiess

(1940-01-24)January 24, 1940
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
DiedJune 18, 2019(2019-06-18) (aged 79)
Pine County, Minnesota, U.S.
OccupationSchool teacher
Known forSailing single-handed across the Atlantic Ocean in a 10-foot (3.0 m) sailboat

Gerald F. Spiess (January 24, 1940 – June 18, 2019) was an American schoolteacher best known for having sailed his 10-foot (3.0 m) home-built sailboat Yankee Girl solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1979 and across the Pacific in 1981.

Sailboat construction

Spiess designed and built the boat in his garage in suburban White Bear Lake, Minnesota, from plywood. After a test launch in the local lake, Spiess transported the boat to the East Coast for launch. He sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on June 1, 1979, arriving in Falmouth, England, after a 54-day Atlantic crossing.

Legacy

In 1991, a tribute song was written about Spiess's journey with Yankee Girl.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Obituary for Gerald F. 'Gerry' Spiess".
  2. ↑ "Alone against the Atlantic: Minnesota adventurer Gerry Spiess dies at 79".
  3. ↑ Spiess, Gerry; Bree, Marlin (1981). Alone Against the Atlantic. Minneapolis: Control Data Publishing. ISBN 0-89893-506-7. OCLC 7577810.
  4. ↑ Los Angeles Times July 24, 1979
  5. ↑ New York Times Notes on People July 25, 1979
  6. ↑ Across the Atlantic and Pacific in 10' Sailboat “Yankee Girl”!; Kori Derrick (February 3, 2017)

Further reading