Sail Ho from St Katheriens Dock...

Last week I wrote about visiting St Katherine's Dock and coming across the yachts that wee going to take part in a round the world race. If you’ve got a long memory the name Robyn Knox Johnson might mean something to you.

If not then read on …

On 14 June 1968 Robin Knox-Johnston left Falmouth in his 32-foot (9.8-metre) boat Suhaili, one of the smallest boats to enter the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. Despite losing his self-steering gear off Australia, he rounded Cape Horn on 17 January 1969, 20 days before his closest competitor Bernard Moitessier, who subsequently abandoned the race and sailed on to Tahiti. The other seven competitors dropped out at various stages, leaving Knox-Johnston to win the race and become officially the first man to circumnavigate the globe non-stop and single-handed on 22 April 1969, the day he returned to Falmouth.
In 1996 Robin established the first Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and has since worked with the Clipper Ventures company as Chairman to progress the race to higher levels every year.^[5] It is perhaps his greatest achievement to have introduced so many people to competitive sailing via their involvement in Clipper Ventures.

Thanks Mr Wikipaedia.

It was made even more special for The Man and me because we got to see Tower Bridge raised. 

After that momentous event we did our usual meander and after a short bus ride looking for somewhere to have lunch we found ourselves at Greenland Dock What a pretty and expensive looking residential area, hmm don’t think we could even afford to rent here let alone buy. 

It was great to see some of the local wild life. A mummy, OK it could have been a Daddy, Great Crested Grebe ferrying one of its chicks on its back. We watched entranced as the other adult dived, then came up with a small slivery fish for the one of the babies.

Hmm, nearly time to head back, let’s ask that chap where the nearest bus stop is. We followed his directions and pretty soon were resting our weary feet in a big red bus.
Next stop Surrey Quays where we caught the overground back to Crystal palace.