Press Release - January 16, 2007
Larry and Maxine Bailey of Seattle, Washington were selected by the Cruising Club of America to receive the 2006 Far Horizons Award for their adventurous full-time cruising aboard their 43-foot cutter Shingebiss II during the past 14 years. The Baileys adventure began by sailing to Kiska Island in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, then on to a full circuit of the world including rounding Cape Horn, cruising in the Mediterranean and the Baltic Seas, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin then across the length of the Pacific Ocean, and returning back to Kiska Island.
The award was presented at the club's annual Awards Dinner in New York on January 16, 2007 by CCA commodore Edward S. Rowland.
The Far Horizons Award was established in 2006 by the CCA Governing Board to recognize members of the Cruising Club of America for a particularly meritorious cruise or series of cruises that exemplify the objectives of the club. The name of the award is derived from the name of the books published by the club containing accounts of cruising adventures by its members.
The Bailey's odyssey began in May 1992 when they sailed from Seattle, Washington to the western end of the Aleutians and back as a 6,800-mile shakedown trip and to make a starting point for their circuitous circumnavigation.
The next leg of their voyage was from Seattle to Cape Horn, Chile via Mexico, Central America, the Galapagos Islands, Easter Islands, then cruising through the Patagonian Canals to Cape Horn. A subsequent trip in Antarctica had to be cut short because of the loss of the both the engine and the outboard motor and forced a detour to The Falklands for repairs.
Next in high southern latitudes was a cruise to South Georgia Island, after which they sailed via many of the Atlantic islands to the Azores, followed by three years in the Mediterranean, around Ireland and Britain, then into the Baltic Sea. With eight years of cruising already behind them, the Baileys left the Baltic and followed the route of the Vikings westward from Norway across the Atlantic via the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and then to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, Canada.
Wandering south down the Atlantic Ocean included visits along the East Coast of the U.S. and to Cuba, before revisiting the Azores. Madeira and the Canary Islands were next, followed by a non-stop passage to Cape Town, South Africa. They departed eastward with a stop at seldom-visited, St. Paul Island in the central Indian Ocean. The final legs of their circumnavigation took them to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand then back to Kiska via the Marshall Islands to complete the cycle. Upon their return to Seattle they had left 93,000 miles in their wake during a remarkable voyage noted for the Bailey's self-sufficiency, seamanship, sense of adventure and interest in other cultures.
