Trekka and John Guzwell

Photo Courtesy John Guzwell

Fifty years ago, a 29-year-old singlehander from Victoria, BC, named John Guzzwell completed an unprecedented circumnavigation aboard Trekka, a 21-ft wooden yawl he'd built with his own hands. At the time, Trekka was the smallest boat ever to have gone around. The book he published about his adventures, Trekka Round the World, became a cult classic among would-be voyagers, and is credited for sparking the dreams of many who have circumnavigated since. John Guzwell, at 29, sailed Trekka around the world.

This was a report in Latitude 38 magazine,they held a meeting in Johns honour.
In a sport often dominated by massive egos, John Guzwell is a refreshingly humble hero who normally shuns the spotlight. So we are thrilled that he has graciously offered to share insights from his lifetime of voyaging and custom boatbuilding. He'll show vintage Southern Ocean film footage shot while accompanying Miles and Beryl Smeeton on their ill-fated Cape Horn attempt aboard Tzu Hang in 1957 — chronicled in another sailors' classic, Once is Enough. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading it, let us explain that the threesome got caught in a horrendous storm that pitchpoled Tzu Hang and dismasted her. Thanks to John's carpentry skills, they finally arrived safely in Chile after 87 days at sea.

John contacted CKD Boats last year,he was asking about our Didi 26 design by Dudley Dix.