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260:, King's Legend managed to get ahead of the Flyer by 360 nautical miles, until a leak was discovered at the rudderpost. It took two days to get it under control. Novak described the event as "a stark reminder that these are desolate oceans populated only by albatross, whales and ice, with no shipping within thousands of miles."." The incident cost King's Legend a large portion of the lead.
296:, who owned the ship for only a brief time and mainly used her for celebrations on the Hudson. In the first twenty years after the Whitbread Race, the ship changed ownership various times. King's Legend has been in Lebanese, Belgian and Norwegian hands, and has sailed all over the world, from Australia to South Africa and the Caribbean.
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Years later, a nearly broke businessman decided to invest his last money in a racing horse, in an all-or-nothing last-ditch effort. He called this horse Kings' Legend, after the above legend. The horse won the race, and the businessman's luck changed for the better again. In honor of the three kings
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The second time Viking raiders came, the villagers led them to the second buried treasure. The
Vikings once again eagerly dug up the treasure, had a great feast and sailed home. Once home, they turned out to have been infected with a deadly disease that caused an epidemic in their village and nearly
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Throughout the
Whitbread Race, King's Legend was plagued by financial trouble. Reportedly, Conny van Rietschoten, Ratcliff's primary opponent, gave the crew financial support in order to keep the ship in the race. He allegedly paid an outstanding hotel bill in South Africa, and donated roughly $
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deck, among other changes. The ship's interior was sanded and lacquered, but is otherwise still in the original state. After this refit, King's Legend has been sailing around the
Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean and northern Europe. She is currently mainly a pleasure cruise ship, but she also
212:, the successor of the Whitbread Race. According to Novak, he was "in the right place at the right time" to join King's Legend's crew as its navigator, owing the position to meeting Ratcliff by chance at the bar of the Fountain Hotel in Cowes and "a handshake over a pint of ale."
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When the
Vikings returned, the villagers led them to the first buried treasure. The Vikings loaded the treasure onto their ships and sailed off, happy with the abundant loot. On the way home, however, they ended up in a great storm and the entire fleet was lost to the waves.
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two years later, the design deviated from the two-masted model that was standard at the time, using a single, somewhat taller mast instead. King's Legend was probably built in a year and a half, and upon completion, she was one of the fastest sailing yachts in the world.
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debt he still owed the
British tax administration. Lowered morale among the crew eventually had Ratcliff back down. King's Legend finished in Portsmouth with a travel time of 121 days and 11 hours, earning her second place.
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built at the site where the last remaining treasure was believed to be buried. He named the mansion Kings' Legend as well. Upon his death in the late nineteenth century, the mansion was bought by the
Ratcliff family.
229:, featuring fifteen competing yachts. Most of the second Whitbread Race was dominated by a head to head race between King's Legend and Flyer, a yacht representing the Netherlands and navigated by
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Since 1999, King's Legend belongs to a Dutch owner. She was bought from a
Norwegian businessman, and was in a bad condition at the time. The ship was renovated in five months at a wharf in
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in
Jakobstad. She was commissioned by British businessman, Nick Ratcliff, who paid for the construction of the ship with his family's wealth. The yacht was designed by designer duo
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252:, both ships were still within visual range of each other, but in the end Flyer managed to win the first stage by 2 hours and 4 minutes. During the second stage, from
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When the young Nick
Ratcliff bought a sailing yacht to compete in the Whitbread Race, he expected to need all the luck he could get. He named the ship Kings' Legend.
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The name King's Legend originates from an old
English legend. A thousand years ago, three English kings were plagued by devastating raids by pillaging
340:. The three kings decided to work together and devised a plan. They gathered up all their treasures, buried them separately on their lands and put a
275:, completely cutting the ship off from the outside world. Without access to weather reports, King's Legend ended up lagging behind the competition.
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G. Jobson, Fighting Finish: The Volvo Ocean Race : Round the World 2001-2002 (Vermont, Nomad Press: 2002) 112-114
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30,000 to King's Legend further on in the race. Ratcliff is also said to have refused to finish in England due to a
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Nick Ratcliff's financial trouble after the race forced him to sell the ship. The buyer was a diamond trader from
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233:. Contrary to the current Volvo Ocean Race, the Whitbread Race was sailed by pioneers. Navigation was done by
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not being thick enough. The ship was sailed by a multinational crew of sailor friends, who were paid in
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Flyer and King's Legend left the other competitors far behind. During the first stage, a thousand
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wiped it out altogether. The Vikings decided to avoid that part of England henceforth.
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593:"Volvo Ocean Race official site - Legends: Right place, right time"
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On the 27th of August, 1977, the second Whitbread Race took off at
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competes in various competitions. King's Legend competed in the
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Gijs van Liebergen, and is used for chartered cruises on the
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616:"Stephen Lirakis - Skip Novak, Old Man Of The Sea"
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690:Sailboat type designs by American designers
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541:Note: This may not be a complete list.
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119:200 m (2,200 sq ft)
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670:Sailing yachts of the Netherlands
332:Origin of the name King's Legend
263:During the third stage, between
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16:Dutch-owned Swan65 sailing yacht
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178:Whitbread Around the World Race
142:Whitbread Around the World Race
95:31,800 kg (70,100 lb)
383:Crew during the Whitbread Race
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314:Sint Maarten Heineken Regatta
576:"Kriter - Whitbread history"
356:and their legend, he had a
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288:After the Whitbread Race
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265:New Zealand
258:New Zealand
644:Categories
559:References
488:Skip Novak
369:apostrophe
344:on them.
227:Portsmouth
206:Skip Novak
322:Swan Cups
320:and both
273:SSB radio
254:Cape Horn
250:Cape Town
192:, on the
186:home port
154:Caribbean
116:Sail area
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301:IJmuiden
294:New York
198:forestay
150:Dutchman
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71:Launched
56:NED–6572
522:Finland
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358:mansion
338:Vikings
248:before
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188:was in
146:'77-'78
135:sailing
132:Swan 65
61:Builder
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269:Brazil
216:Career
156:, the
100:Length
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