On this day in Wembury — 28 August 1986
The Staffordshire Sentinel carried a story that showed ocean racing in a far less glamorous light. Bob Salmon of Wembury, a seasoned yachtsman and adventurer, admitted that his participation in the Whitbread Round-the-World Race had left him heavily in debt. Salmon, then fifty years old, had skippered the 77-foot yacht Norsk Data U.K. to ninth place in the gruelling 27,000-mile race, but the financial toll was as demanding as the physical challenge.
“I only bought the yacht for the race and I borrowed from the bank,” he told the paper. “It is true to say that I owe much more than my house is worth, but I didn’t remortgage the house — that wouldn’t have been fair to my wife and three children.” Despite the cost, he described the voyage as a “test run” and was already preparing for the next circumnavigation in 1989.
Salmon, born in Exeter and long settled in Wembury, became one of the best-known figures in the world of independent ocean racing. He appeared in the BBC2 documentary By Way of Cape Horn, which followed the fourth Whitbread Race and captured the raw reality of life at sea. His determination and honesty made him a favourite among sailors, and his story connected Wembury to one of the toughest maritime challenges on Earth — a reminder that the spirit of adventure still ran strong on this stretch of the Devon coast.
(Staffordshire Sentinel, 28 August 1986)