Michael Richey was a quietly remarkable figure in the world of small-boat ocean sailing: a World War II veteran, a skilled navigator, and a reserved gentleman whose style and values belonged to an earlier era. British-born and modest by nature, Richey became synonymous with a 25-foot junk-rigged modified Folkboat named Jester. He crossed the Atlantic more than a dozen times alone in that boat, and his life at sea left an enduring impression on those who knew him and on the wider sailing community.
Richey acquired Jester from Blondie Hasler, the co-founder of the trans-Atlantic OSTAR race. The little boat’s simple, robust design suited Richey’s practical and unostentatious approach to voyaging. He once described Jester as “a work of genius,” praising how effortless she felt under sail across a wide range of conditions. That combination of a seaworthy hull and a forgiving junk rig allowed Richey to undertake long, engineless passages with confidence and a deep sense of comfort in his capabilities and equipment.
More than a skilled sailor, Richey was a thoughtful and spiritual man. He once considered becoming a monk, and that contemplative temperament showed in his approach to singlehanded sailing: solitary but not lonely, disciplined and undaunted by the risks and responsibilities of long passages. He treated seamanship as a craft to be perfected with care — observing that “a well-made voyage is no different from a well-made table or chair.” Everyday shipboard routines, maintenance, navigation and the measured cadence of life at sea offered him fulfilment.
Jester and her skipper endured their share of dramatic moments. In 1981 they survived an attack by killer whales off the Grand Banks, a frightening and unusual encounter that tested both boat and sailor. Five years later a violent storm knocked Jester down, rolled her over and dismasted her. The battered little craft could not finish under her own power; instead, she completed that crossing aboard the deck of a banana carrier. Those incidents highlighted the risks inherent in singlehanded, engineless ocean passages, and they also showed the resilience of Richey and his vessel.
The 1988 OSTAR proved to be a turning point. A rogue wave stove in a hatch, forcing Richey to abandon Jester. He was rescued by a bulk carrier, but the boat was lost while under tow. The loss struck him deeply. Jester had been uninsured, and Richey lacked the resources to replace her. Beyond the practical considerations lay a more personal grief: among the items lost to the sea was his treasured sextant, an instrument with its own story.
During World War II, Richey had “liberated” a Plath-made sextant from a captured German U-boat; its index arm bore a swastika. He described it as the finest sextant he had ever used and relied on it for nearly 45 years. When Jester was disabled, the sextant was found amid the sodden wreckage. Although its case was broken and the telescope had misted, Richey later reflected that leaving it behind felt like the close of a chapter in his life at sea.
Friends and fellow sailors rallied after the loss. They established a trust and built an exact replica of the original Jester. The new boat was constructed using cold-molding techniques rather than traditional planking, but it faithfully reproduced the lines and spirit of the lost craft. Richey sailed that replica in two more trans-Atlantic races, returning to England after the 1996 event to receive a certificate from Guinness World Records recognizing him as the oldest man to have sailed the North Atlantic alone — at 80 years and 31 days.
Michael Richey’s legacy is one of quiet courage, meticulous seamanship and a deep attachment to simplicity and self-reliance. His life illustrates the appeal and challenges of small-boat ocean voyaging: the rewards of solitude and skill, the ever-present possibility of loss, and the lasting bonds formed among sailors. For many, Jester will remain a symbol of resourceful design and the enduring human desire to test oneself against the sea.
More from this issue:
- Meet the luckiest sailor alive
- An EPIRB and some Lady Luck
- Tom Neale’s ICW Log: Part II
- Top Coast Guard videos
- Former Earthrace trimaran a casualty of ‘Whale Wars’
- America’s Cup 2010: clash of the multihulls
- How-to: DIY deck repair