With all due respect to today's female sailors, one of the most courageous and capable long distance sailors, male or female, must have been Ann Davison. In 1952 she singlehandedly crossed the Atlantic in Felicity Ann, her 23 foot yacht, the first woman to do so and in one of the smallest boats.
Before the Second World War Ann was a freelance commercial pilot. She landed a job with Frank Davison as a joyride pilot, taking holidaymakers on trips over Blackpool and Morecambe. They fell in love and married.
Frank was a nomadic, adventurous type having lived in Canada, where he worked as a lumberjack, panned for gold, raced automobiles, paddled canoes through unexplored country, drove huskies through the winter snows and sailed a cutter singlehanded from Labrador and up the St.Lawrence.
Ann too had that streak of adventure. She discovered her love of flying while living on a ranch in Argentina and upon returning to England promptly took flying lessons and gained her licence.
When the War started they were running a small private airfield at Hooton near Chester, but then everything was taken away from them by the war department.
During the war years - they were not wanted in the armed forces for medical reasons - the Davisons tried several ventures, all of which failed for various reasons. It seems they had more than their share of bad luck. They ended up in 1947 with Reliance, an old 70 foot fishing boat they had located in Fleetwood, after a long search.
They were looking for a suitable vessel on which to live and travel the world, and this boat seemed just right, even though it was in a terrible condition. It had been almost fished to death, but the Davisons saw possibilities and were prepared to buckle down and sort it all out, something they had always done in their previous endeavours.
Little did they realise what an awful battle they would have to make the ship comfortable and seaworthy. After the war there was a shortage of all types of material, steel, timber, fastenings etc. They ran out of money and had to re-mortgage and borrow more, but at the end of two years' hard graft they felt they were ready to sail. Just one small snag…writs were issued for the recovery of money they owed.
Afraid they would lose their ship, they decided to do a runner before the writ was nailed to the mast. Ill prepared, beset with worries, they embarked on a voyage that was to end in disaster
They slipped quietly out into the Irish Sea and headed south in quite benign weather. Approaching St.Georges Channel they had their first fright…the galley caught fire.
Leaving St.Georges Channel they were hit by south westerly gales and things began to get desperate. They were not able to prepare meals or hot drinks, they could get no rest, the steering jammed, they became completely lost. The gales drove them back and they struck shoals.
They were surprised when eventually, after an emergency anchoring and a visit from a lifeboat, they discovered they were off Land's End. This was long before the days of GPS.
Knowing that the tally-man was on their trail they decided to keep heading west to their intended destination, Cuba. Another south westerly gale put paid to that and they turned and ran up Channel.
With yet another engine breakdown, trying to claw off a lee shore with a totally inadequate scrap of canvas proved futile, and they ended up on the rocks of Portland Bill, their only liferaft a cork Carley float.
They were tormented by the Portland Race, swept in to the land then out to sea again, repeatedly capsized by huge waves. Frank disappeared into the maelstrom of the Race never to be seen again.
After two days Ann managed to scramble onto the rocks. Then she faced a 70 foot climb up the cliffs! All this without food, drink or rest for several days…a woman of terrific courage and determination.
She had lost everything; husband, ship/home, all her belongings, and into the bargain owed a lot of money. With staggering grit she faced up to her responsibilities, and over the next three years paid off her creditors and made enough money to buy Felicity Ann.
She worked in local boatyards not only to earn money but also to learn about boats. At the same time she wrote two books: Last Voyage, the story of her life with Frank and Home was an Island. She had made up her mind to sail the Atlantic single handed.
The books were well received and provided the means to purchase the boat, fit her out and provision her for the voyage. Leaving Plymouth in May 1952 Ann set off heading for Madeira. But it was not to be. Four days out she found the boat was taking water, so she had to make for Douarnenez, assisted by a French trawler.
Vigo was the next port of call. From there she set out for Gibraltar, a 500 mile trip down the Spanish and Portuguese coasts. After a stay of five weeks Felicity Ann pointed her bows south, next stop Casablanca for provisioning, fitting out - and socialising, then off to Las Palmas before what Ann called 'the voyage proper': the crossing.
It took Ann 65 days to reach Dominica, but she was playing for safety after her previous horrific experience. Sometimes she would only have a day's run of 72 miles, averaging 3 - 4 knots, and some nights she would heave to to sleep, until she was able to rig the twin staysails and set up a self-steering system. From Dominica it was on to Antigua - then she entered the United States in St.Thomas where she had much needed rest.
There was a delightful stay of several weeks in Nassau where she worked as a secretary - amused to be paid to stay in a place she didn't want to leave. Then she sailed for Miami where she was welcomed and pampered as a celebrity - the first woman to sail single handed across the Atlantic, and in such a small boat.
Before leaving England Ann had contracted to write her story for the Sunday Chronicle and here was the perfect place to do this. After a wonderful stay in Miami she entered the Intracoastal Waterway and set off for New York, a distance of 1,200 miles. Once again, she was given a hero's welcome and Felicity Ann was put on show at the New York Boat Show in December.
Ann Davison wrote a full account of her voyage across the Atlantic in her book My Ship is so Small published by Peter Davies Ltd in 1955
- well worth finding if you can.
