Robin Lee Graham // Fifty Years Since Sailing DOVE

#352. Robin Lee Graham made history when he left California in 1965, at the age of sixteen, to sail around the world alone on DOVE. He met his wife Patti on this epic journey, which he completed in 1970. The voyage was followed by a flurry of media and a difficult return to life ashore. The Graham’s moved to Montana soon after the circumnavigation, where they built a life with their two kids, Quimby and Ben. Robin and Patti still live on Flathead Lake, where their close-knit family gathers often. Robin wrote three books with the help of Derek Gill: Dove, The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone, and Home is the Sailor. Dove was adapted into a Hollywood movie in 1974. Emma's mother, Lynn, sailed across the Atlantic in 1978, when she was twelve years old. Lynn had the first edition of The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone on the shelf beside her bunk, and spent their 26 day passage from Maine to Ireland flipping through its pages. Emma grew up with that same copy on her shelf, which sparked her trajectory towards sailing.

In February 2022, 50 years after Robin's circumnavigation, Emma traveled up to Montana to interview Robin in person, in the house he built on Flathead Lake. The two sailors talked about Robin's early sailing days, his relationship with his father, his faith, and how he and Patti have built their life.

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