We mourn the passing of legendary circumnavigator John Guzzwell. Guzzwell was 94. Born in 1930 in England, he emigrated to Canada and arrived in Victoria in 1953. He was the builder and sailor of Trekka–his inspirational voyage around the globe connected him with enthusiastic supporters on every shore.
He decided to build a boat in 1954, and wrote to designer J. Laurent Giles of Lymington for Trekka’s plans. The rest is history. Built right downtown Victoria and launched when Guzzwell was only 24, Trekka is now part of the Maritime Museum of BC’s fleet of vessels.
Guzzwell was a longtime supporter of maritime history on the west coast, including giving talks and presentations about his circumnavigation at the Maritime Museum of BC and the Thermopylae Club, and presiding over the 2003 Classic Boat Festival as Honorary Commodore.
Remember Guzzwell with us, through the archival photos below from the Maritime Museum of BC archives:
John Guzzwell and Trekka in Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Photo courtesy of the Maritime Museum of BC.
August 1954
Trekka launched in the Inner Harbour
Her keel had been laid, clamped, and glued-up in the boiler room of the YMCA and the rest of her building done in a store-room at the rear of Johnny Bell’s Fish and Chip Shop on View street.
1955-1959
John Guzzwell circumnavigates the globe
Departing on 10 September 1955, John Guzzwell sailed Trekka to the Hawaiian Islands via San Francisco. From there his route was southward to the South Pacific Islands with New Zealand as the planned destination.
Trekka was laid up for 16 months in New Zealand while her master joined Tzu Hang to crew with Miles Smeeton.
John Guzzwell returned to New Zealand in December 1957 and readied Trekka for a continuance of his voyage.
September 12, 1959
Trekka and Guzzwell Return to Victoria
She was the smallest vessel at that time to have circumnavigated the globe. Guzzwell was greeted by rapturous onlookers after an epic four-year circumnavigation that saw Trekka survive a cyclone. She took Guzzwell through the waters of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, and into the Indian Ocean.
1963-1975
Marian and Clifford Cain circumnavigate the globe
On her second circumnavigation, Trekka was sailed by new owners Marian and Clifford Cain.
1980
A Second Return to Victoria for Trekka
In the spring of 1980, members of the Thermopylae Club of Victoria commenced a fund-raising drive to bring Trekka home for good. Owner Eric Abranovich set out alone from Honolulu (pictured) on August 10th and after an eventful voyage of more than 3,500 miles and about 50 days, he brought the tiny vessel into Victoria Harbour to be greeted by hundreds of well-wishers including John Guzzwell, her builder and original master.
Labour Day Weekend, 1981
Trekka featured at the Classic Boat Festival
Now a part of the Maritime Museum of BC Collection, Trekka was a star vessel for the fourth annual Festival.
