At Maritime Gloucester, deep water sailor Joe Harris last night regaled his audience with the tale of his quest to set a new class record for an unassisted solo circumnavigation of the world.
Joe cast off from Newport RI on his 40 foot monohull Gryphon Solo 2 on November 15, 2015. Sailing southward and easterly, his plan was to cross the South Atlantic to the waters off Cape Town, South Africa and then continue east through the Indian Ocean into the Pacific, running south of Australia and New Zealand, round Cape Horn and then take a long slog North along east coasts of the Americas back to Newport.
Unfortunately, Joe was forced into Cape Town to repair his hydro-generator, without which he would have lost the use of all of the electronic navigation and communication equipment on board. A second incident resulted in serious hull damage necessitating another emergency stop, this time in Uruguay.
Although Joe did not set the new record, his voyage of 154 days (not counting the repair stops) was a thrilling adventure filled with moments of abject terror as well as those of serene contentment. When asked if he would do it again, Joe said, ” I would like to, but don’t think I will.”
See Joe’s photo gallery of the voyage here.
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Good Morning Gloucester 
Wow that is one long adventure thanks Marty for sharing this! 🙂 & Kim 🙂
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See y’all might think Joe Harris is famous for his adventures sailing like a boss. But what you might not realize that what he’s really famous for is being the dad behind one of the most prolific defenders on Hamilton’s venerable and feared Soccer Chicks team, Sophie Harris. Sophie is an absolute rock on defense for the Chicks. Going up against girls two years older and locking down the defensive end with co-defensive standout Caroline Monahan. Absolute beast mode, allowing the rest of the team to stay in their respective positions, knowing Sophie and Caroline have the defense handled. #ironcurtain So congrats on the whole sailing thing, and super congrats on your awesome daughter!
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Thanks Joey for expanding here well said! 🙂 Dave
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hey Joey C- what up dog? this is Joey H father of Beast Mode Sophie Harris- defensive soccer monster. thx for the shout out!
see you at the Soccer Chix soon-
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