robertson ii sailboat

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History of SALTS

• 1974 - Robertson II purchased and sailed to Victoria; innovative sail training programs started
• 1980 - Robertson II put up for auction but purchased and donated back
• 1980-1984 - Robertson II receives major rebuild from 1980-1984
• 1984-1985 - Spirit of Chemainus constructed; later sold
• 1986 - Pacific Swift  constructed as working exhibit at Expo '86 in Vancouver
• 1988-1989 - First Offshore Voyage of the Pacific Swift
• 1989-1990 - Second Offshore Voyage
•  1991-1993 - Third Offshore Voyage
• 1994-1995 - Fourth Offshore Voyage
• 1995-2001 - Pacific Grace , a replica of the Robertson II, constructed
•  2003-2004 - Fifth Offshore Voyage and maiden offshore voyage for the Pacific Grace
• 2007-2008 - Sixth Offshore Voyage
• 2012 - Relocation of office, shipyard, and marina
• 2015-Present - Bursary funding surpasses $100,000 annually; trainees are selected by SALTS and up to 14 partner organizations
• 2016 - Summer voyage routes expand along the northern BC coast, allowing for new relationships with indigenous communities and exploration of indigenous history and culture
• 2016 - Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sail with SALTS during their visit to Victoria
• 2017 - S.S. Beaver Medal for Maritime Excellence received from Her Honour the Lt. Governor of BC on behalf of the Maritime Museum of BC

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• Wild Animals

I Survived a Whale Attack That Left My Family Stranded in the Ocean for 38 Days (Exclusive)

"I found myself swimming desperately in the water knowing that any second the killer whales could return and I would feel their bite," recalls Douglas Robertson

Provided by Douglas Robertson

In 1968, Dougal and Linda Robertson, as well as their four children  — Anne, 18, Douglas, 16, and twins Neil and Sandy, 9  — were glued to radio, following British master yachtsman Robin Knox-Johnston ’s attempt to become the first person to sail solo around the world non-stop. It prompted Neil to say: “Daddy's a sailor. Why don't we sail around the world, too?”

So the Robertsons sold their farm and used the money to buy a schooner, which they set sail on in 1971 from Falmouth, England. On June 15, 1972, some 18 months after the family embarked on their voyage, the schooner was attacked by three killer whales in the Pacific Ocean. It forced the Robertsons and a hitchhiker to abandon ship and seek refuge first in a raft and then later in a dinghy. Stranded for 38 days, they relied on rainwater, turtle blood and their wits alone, before a Japanese boat found and rescued them . Remarkably, no one died. 

The rescue made headlines, and Dougal, who died in 1992, wrote a book, Survive the Savage Sea , about the experience. Douglas later revisited the shipwreck in his 2004 book, The Last Voyage of the Lucette . Here, Douglas, now 70, recalls the entire ordeal — from the optimism of the initial voyage to finally returning to land — in his own words, as told to PEOPLE's David Chiu.

Douglas Robertson

It was the summer of 1970. We bought this schooner, Lucette , in Malta, and sailed it back to Falmouth. Now, 18 months after we'd made the decision to sail and sold the farm, we sat thinking, "Are we really doing to do this?"

Of course, the answer was yes, and that's what we did on Jan. 27, 1971. We didn't even sail around the bay for a bit of practice with the yacht before we set sail from around the world. Dougal said training is best done on the job. That turned out to be shortsightedness.

Initially, that training consisted of heavy weather, close encounters with other ships and breakages, but we mostly had a fantastic time basically fishing and meeting other likeminded people. We went from Lisbon, then to the Canary Islands. We inherited a life raft [from a fellow traveler], thank God, and we sailed out through the Caribbean, up through the Bahamas and to Miami, where we stayed for about six months. We worked there and saved up some money for the next leg.

We left the United States in January 1972 and sailed on. My sister had decided that she wouldn't come with us any further as she'd fallen in love with a young man. It changed the boat because we were no longer a full family. We'd left one of our people behind. 

We sailed onto Jamaica, through the Panama Canal, and southwest to the Galapagos Islands. We were there for three weeks before heading to the Marquesas Islands some 2,000 miles away. On the way, we picked up Robin [Williams], a student hitchhiker, in Panama. 

It was two days and 200 miles out from the Galapagos when on June 15 at 10 o'clock in the morning that three killer whales attacked with a bone-jarring strike. “Bang, bang, bang!” was the first thing we heard. We knew instinctively we were in trouble.

Almost immediately, I poked my head down the cockpit hatch and saw water swirling around Dougal's ankles. Our words were interrupted by a loud surging noise over my left shoulder. I looked around and there were three killer whales in close company following us: a daddy, a baby, and a mommy. And the daddy whale had his head split open and was bleeding into the water. I said, “Dad, there's whales out here.” He said, “I've got to try and fix the leak.” Even I knew that that couldn't really be done. The water was coming in too quickly. Then he said to me, “Look, we're going to have to abandon ship. Get the life raft over the side, get the dinghy over the side. I'll be with you soon.” 

Our voyage of discovery turned into a nightmare. I rushed forward to take down the sails as if it would somehow delay the inevitable. I took the dinghy Ednamair and launched it over the side and with a single heave flung the 80-pound raft into the sea. The next wave washed me off the foredeck and I found myself swimming desperately in the water knowing that any second the killer whales could return and I would feel their bite.

The raft was still attached to the sinking yacht, and that's what held it close by so we could board. The dinghy held the raft back and stopped the wind from blowing it away. It also enabled us to collect some of the wreckage [from the sunken Lucette ] that was floating in the water. We managed to get the sail, my mom's sewing basket, biscuits, oranges, lemons, onions and other flotsam in the vicinity of the raft. All of that took place in a few minutes.

And we were very grateful that we were still all alive and somehow made it that far. Of course, with one problem solved, we now had another because we had to try and decide what to do. 

A plan was born as we were in the raft. We would sail north to the Doldrums and collect rainwater. With that rainwater, we would then set sail, towing the raft with the dinghy using the sail I rescued from the wreckage. We thought we could be in the Doldrums in a week to 10 days.

We made three promises to each other. Firstly, we said we would not eat each other no matter how bad it got. We would die quietly together if that's what it came to. Secondly, we would constantly search for a rescue ship. The third pledge was that we would not rest until we got back to land. We felt buoyed up beyond words and hopeful that there was a chance that we might survive.

Finally, on the sixth day we were adrift, a ship sailed past us and didn't see us, despite us sending up flares. It left us devastated and it changed our mindset. Dougal said, “No longer will we look for rescue. We are going to sail on this dinghy for 75 days [to America].” I said, “Dad, we can't survive in this.” And he said, “We have to.”

On the 10th day, we've arrived at the Doldrums. It didn't rain for another three days. But when it rained, it rained. And we were so happy — we sang, we laughed, we cried. We filled all our tins with water and dared think for the first that we might make it.

Six days later, we lost the raft and had to all go to the dinghy. We had terrible thunderstorms. We were so cold. We had no clothes to wear. They rotted away from us. We lost all the bloody water, so we went for five days with hardly any water at all — and that was a self-inflicted wound because we had spilled the water ourselves. 

When it rained, the water gathered in the bottom of the dinghy. But we couldn't drink that water. It was too dirty. My mum came up with this idea [of using enemas to stay hydrated]. So I made the enema tube from the rung of a ladder. I attached a funnel and then my mother administered them.

We also came up with these fantastic fish-catching contraptions. We did manage to catch turtles and found a way of drinking their blood so we could stay hydrated. We also caught dolphins, sucking their eyeballs and their vertebrae for water. Even a shark's stomach provided us with what resembled a cooked meal from the partially digested contents.

I gave up at one point, and Dougal said, “Douglas don't. Do not let your bright light go out. We need you to survive so that you could help us survive.” What kept my dad and my mum going was not their own survival, but the survival of their children. My dad said, “I will not rest Linda until I get these boys on a steamer home.” 

It was the 38th day [of us being shipwrecked]. We were talking about being so close to land now that it couldn't be far away and we should start rowing. But then we saw a Japanese fishing boat, Toka Maru II. We had two flares left that we'd saved from [ Lucette ]. Dougal cast it into the sea and said, “Well, it's all in God's hands now."

The fishing boat finally altered course towards us, and there was no doubt in our minds that we were going to be picked up. The ship approached and they threw a heaving line across. I grabbed hold of it. It was dirty and oily, and I loved it. I thought, “This is not from our world. This is from another world that I belong to. And if I just hang on to this bloody rope, we are going to be back to civilization very soon.” 

Eager hands from Toka Maru II reached out and pulled us on board. They offered us bread, coffee and some orange juice. The captain said, “I thought you maybe have scurvy because you smelled so bad.” We bathed for the first time in six weeks.

We were very weak when we arrived in Panama, and the doctor thought we couldn't manage to fly home. Although Robin managed to fly, we went home by ship. Our strength came back and we were ready for a new life again, although we didn't know what the future held for us. 

Dougal bought another yacht with the proceeds [from his book Survive the Savage Sea , about the shipwreck] in order to try and finally complete the voyage. But he never did and he settled in the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, I joined the Merchant Navy and sailed around the world three times. Our dinghy Ednamair is now housed at the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall, England.

We had sight of a common goal and what got us through that challenging time was we worked as a team and contributed our special skills in achieving that goal. Dougal was the strategist, my mother provided the care, I provided the muscles, Robin kept our morale up, and the twins kept us honest. They reinforced the need for us to survive for their young lives. 

If you just say, "Look, you were cast adrift for 38 days. Get over it. You survived" — well, that is true. But what is also true is that you keep thinking that you're going to die. You die five times a day. You don't know if you're going to make it. That changes you and makes you value life. And it is those things that make you into a stronger person.

Related Articles

Family were sunk by killer whales and stranded on a tiny dinghy

They survived on turtle blood and water enemas

• 14:00, 5 FEB 2023
• Updated 11:03, 16 AUG 2023

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It was one of the most extraordinary voyages to ever leave Cornwall. Little did the Robertson family realise on January 27, 1971, but their adventure of a lifetime would turn into a nightmare which saw them attacked by killer whales and surviving on water enemas and turtle blood in a tiny life raft for almost six weeks.

It all started when Neil Robertson said one day: "Daddy’s a sailor. Why don’t we sail around the world?” And, so, Lyn and Dougal Robertson and their children - Anne, 18, Dougal, 16 and Neil and his twin brother Sandy, nine - decided to do exactly that in their modest sailing yacht Lucette.

After setting sail from Falmouth , the Robertsons spent the first 18 months sailing across the Atlantic and stopping at various Caribbean ports. Anne decided to retire from the voyage in the Bahamas and the family welcomed Robin Williams, a 22-year-old Welsh graduate in economics and statistics, to join them on their onward voyage to New Zealand, via the Panama Canal and the Galapagos Islands.

Read more: Cornwall's Lana Peters was actually dictator Stalin's daughter

They were about 200 miles west of the Galapagos when on June 15, 1972, three horrendous sledgehammer blows hit the hull of Lucette. The boat had been attacked by three male Orca whales. It only took minutes for Lucette to sink. The family grabbed a few items and abandoned ship and managed to board their inflatable rubber life raft and 9ft fiberglass dinghy, Ednamair.

The group only had enough water for ten days and emergency rations for three days. Lyn had grabbed their papers, the logbook and a bag of onions, and they had a kitchen knife, a tin of biscuits, ten oranges, six lemons, half a pound of glucose sweets and flares plus Lyn's sewing box.

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They had no maps, compass or instruments and nobody knew they were missing. Their fight for survival had begun.

For the next five and a half weeks they would fight for their lives, working constantly to keep their raft afloat, catching rain water, fishing, bailing and eking out their meager provisions. Holes started appearing in the raft, and on the 17th day, the floor gave way, forcing them all to take to the open dinghy.

They spent the following 21 days in these cramped conditions, surviving through fierce storms and drought, and coping with severe hunger, thirst and exposure; their bodies wracked with sores and cramp through lack of movement. They knew that nobody would be out looking for them; no one knew they were in trouble simply because they had not expected to be heard of for some time.

Neil and Robin suffered terrible sea sickness but there were fortuitous moments too. A huge 35lb dorado fish landed in the dinghy so there was raw fish for breakfast, with the leftovers cut into strips to dry.

Turtle became the mainstay of their diet. They ate the meat and eggs and drank the blood. The raft was leaking and they were all sitting in water up to their chests, giving them saltwater boils. They set up a makeshift fishing line but wily sharks stole any fish which were caught.

On Day 15 Dougal dived in and swam to retrieve the dinghy which had broken free from the raft. Exhausted, he somehow found the strength and escaped the sharks. It was at this stage that Lyn suggested using the water from the bottom of the dinghy in the form of enemas. It was too foul to drink, but would allow their bodies to keep hydrated. Douglas crafted the makeshift equipment and everyone except Robin accepted the enemas.

On Day 17 the bottom of the raft virtually disappeared and they had to transfer to the dinghy. They salvaged what they could from the raft including flotation pieces to be secured to the bow of Ednamair and the canopy to give them shelter.

Day 20, July 4, was Lyn’s birthday. They all sang Happy Birthday and dined on a feast of fresh turtle meat, dried turtle meat and dried dorado, with water to drink. By Day 27, after surviving a number of frightful storms, they were using turtle oil made from the fat for use in enemas and to soothe damaged skin.

On Day 29 Dougal caught a 5ft Mako shark, hauled it on board and cut its head off. The severed head closed its mouth on his hand and drew blood. He kept the teeth as a souvenir. By Day 36 clothes were tattered and threadbare but Lyn washed and mended them - her sewing kit proved a vital lifeline. The twins were very thin by this stage - Neil was emaciated and Sandy had a cough, possibly pneumonia.

On July 23, 1972, 38 days into their trip in the Ednamair, they were finally picked up after a Japanese fishing trawler, the Toka Maru II, on her way to the Panama Canal, spotted their distress flare. The Japanese sailors couldn't believe what they saw.

The Robertsons and their guest had travelled over 750 miles by raft and dinghy and had about 290 miles left until they would reach land. Robin flew back to England and the Robertson family came back by ship, the MV Port Auckland. Their daughter Anne was waiting back in England, and the family were soon all together again.

The Ednamair is on permanent display in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) in Falmouth, which tells the extraordinary story in full. The Roberstons - and the museum - mark three dates each year: the date they left Falmouth on January 27, Sinking Day (as the family call it) on June 13 and Rescue Day on July 23.

Last year the family spent the 50th anniversary of Sinking Day at the museum . "It was incredibly poignant and very special for everyone involved," said a NMMC spokesperson.

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• Sailboat Guide

2009 Robertson & Caine Leopard 46

• Description

Seller's Description

LEOPARD 46 - OWNER’S VERSION - ORION - in Trinidad & Tobago

Privately owned from day one and never chartered - Very light use

Many upgrades - Ready to sail

Engine Hours: 1570

Generator Hours: 1890

230 and 115 VAC outlets throughout the boat

NEW LISTING - more photos shortly

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

MOORINGS 4600 (charter) / LEOPARD 46 (private ownership).

This listing is presented by SailboatListings.com . Visit their website for more information or to contact the seller.

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