Guo Chuan was the first Chinese sailor to circumnavigate the globe solo and without stopping, setting a new record for a 40ft monohull of 138 days. He has died in the early stages of his next voyage an attempt on the 21-day solo record for the passage from San Francisco to Shanghai. It is thought he fell overboard and his body has not been found. His slogan for the project was “peace and sport”, a demonstration of friendship between Beijing and Washington, at a time of increasing tension between the two powers in the South China Sea. In one of his last radio messages he said he kept himself company by listening to a recording of his young son laughing. He called it “the most beautiful song in the world”.
He was born on 5 January 1965 and had a very earthy chart with a Capricorn Sun trine Uranus Pluto Mars in Virgo trine Jupiter in Taurus, formed into a Kite with Jupiter opposition Neptune – so very talented, attracted to danger with Mars tied into Pluto Uranus and Jupiter; and drawn by a Neptunian ideal or vision.
The earthiness of his chart reminded me of Chay Blyth, the Scottish solo yachtsman and rower. Born 14 May 1940 4.30am Hawick, Scotland, he had a Taurus Sun Uranus Mercury Saturn and Neptune in Virgo. I interviewed years ago when he set his records and he thought one thing which helped him with the dangers of solo sailing was his ‘lack of imagination’. An overloading of earth can produce a practical mind that doesn’t sail off into fantasy or paranoia and imagine the worst. It just gets on with doing what’s necessary.
Francis Chichester, an early solo sailor, 17 September 1901 had a Virgo Sun and Saturn Jupiter in Capricorn, though he had more Water in his chart.
Robin Knox-Johnston, another marine soloist, 17 March 1939 6.40am London, just to be un-useful, has a Water Fire chart with a Pisces Sun Jupiter opposition Neptune, and Pluto in Cancer; a focal point sporty Mars in Sagittarius; with only two earth planets, Neptune and Uranus.
So clearly different temperaments cope with the rigours in different ways. But not worrying about everything that could possibly go wrong, which most of us would, will be an asset.