Carlin, ‘weekend sailor,’ dies at 92
ALICANTE, Spain – Volvo Ocean Race officials say Ramon Carlin, the “weekend sailor” who overcame long odds to win the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973-74, died in Mexico City. He was 92.
Carlin was unknown in the sport when he entered the race, which later became the Volvo Ocean Race, after making a fortune manufacturing washing machines and other goods.
He assembled a crew of unheralded sailors before upsetting some of the era’s leading names in offshore sailing, such as Britain’s Chay Blyth, by winning with his Swan 65, Sayula II.
After the race, in which three rival sailors died in the 19-boat fleet, Carlin returned home to a presidential reception in Acapulco and became Mexico’s most famous yachtsman.
His triumph was commemorated in the movie “The Weekend Sailor” last year.