Andrew Halcrow
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Andrew Halcrow is a well known sailor from Shetland.
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Around The World
Andrew was born and lived in Hamnavoe, Burra, and from a young age he was a very keen sailor, taking after his father, the late Gerald Halcrow. Andrew built his own yacht and named it Elsi Arrub (Burra Isle backwards), with dreams of sailing around the world. Though his intention was to sail solo around the world, his younger brother Terry Halcrow joined him. The brothers set sail on the 15th of June, 1988 from Hamnavoe, Burra. The pair would sail from one port to another, staying for some time and also working within these locations. The two sailors eventually returned home to a huge crowd in Hamnavoe, Burra in August 1993.
Solo Sailor
Andrew always had a desire to sail around the world on a non-stop, solo journey and so on the 27th June 2006, Andrew set sail from Hamnavoe, Burra and was expected to return between May and June, 2007. However in mid-December 2006 when he was off the coast of Australia, he begun to suffer from bad stomach pains, and eventually decided that he would have to contact any nearby vessels for rescue. The stomach pains were later discovered to be acute appendicitis, a deadly disease if left untreated. He was picked up by a tanker and airlifted to a hospital in Albany, Australia, leaving Elsi Arrub drifting in the southern ocean, with her future unknown. Following his recovery in Australia, Andrew arranged several fly-overs to search for Elsi in the vast Southern Indian Ocean. The first few attempts at locating the Elsi were unsuccessful, but it was eventually spotted on the February 13th 2007, floating about 170 miles from Australia and arrangements were made for it to be towed to shore. On hearing this news, Andrew flew out to Albany and was there to see the boat coming in. While in Australia, Andrew arranged for the boat to be returned home. The Else arrived home on May 24th 2007.
The Swan
Andrew is known not only in Shetland because of his round-the-world trips, but he was also a familiar face to the many thousands of people he dealt with while he was the skipper of a local Shetland boat, The Swan, which did trips to Orkney, to the mainland and around Shetland, as well as taking part in the Tall Ships Races to ports in other countries, including Norway and Denmark.
Book
Andrew is currently putting together ideas for a book which will document his time on and off the ocean.
