clare francis yachtswoman

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Clare Francis, round-the-world yachtswoman

Posted in Sea , Sport , Sporting Heroes on Friday, 5 August 2011

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This edited article about Clare Francis originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 1004 published on 6 June 1981.

One morning Clare Francis sat up in bed and made a decision which was to change her whole life. She was going to sail to America. Clare planned to gather a few friends who would accompany her on the trip.

However, things did not turn out the way Clare had planned. One by one, her friends dropped out of the voyage. But Clare was determined to go ahead with the plan even if it meant sailing alone. In her sloop, Gulliver G, Clare finally set off from Falmouth in May, 1973, and arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, 37 days later.

She now confesses that she was “terrified the whole way”. Nevertheless, she repeated the voyage three years later, when she entered the Observer’s Single-handed Transatlantic Yacht Race. Britain’s only woman in the race, 28-year-old Clare guided her sloop, Robertson’s Golly, into Newport harbour, completing the 4,800 kilometre crossing in 29 days. She had beaten the women’s record by nearly four days.

On the completion of the race, Clare vowed never to make another solo Atlantic crossing. Apart from wishing to ease the minds of her parents, Clare was feeling exhausted from the tension, and from the burning up of mental and physical energy.

But there was just one last challenge which she wanted to face – to sail around the world. While she was making preparations for the marathon sail, she agreed to marry Jacques Redon, a teacher whom she had met during a 1974 yachting competition.

Clare and Jacques were married in July, 1977, just one month before the Whitbread round-the-world sailing race, which Clare had entered. With a crew of 11, including her husband, Clare set sail from Portsmouth in August. She was the only woman skipper in the race.

Although she had already proved her skill and experience by conquering the dangers of sailing alone across the Atlantic, Clare set sail with a feeling of excitement. The element of danger seemed to encourage her rather than dissuade her from tackling the long voyage ahead. Seven months later, in fifth position, Clare Francis steered the ADC Accutrac over the finishing line at 10.58 p.m. on 25th March, 1978.

She had accepted – and conquered – another challenge.

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A Brief Biography

Clare Francis's first novel; Night Sky was published in 1983 to international success. It went to number one in the Sunday Times bestseller list, and spent six weeks in the New York Times top 10.

Clare was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey. Christmas holidays were spent with her grandparents in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed the love of landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.

What began as a personal odyssey turned into what she terms her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. The odyssey was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic, during which she read, listened to music and tried her hand at writing. Soon after, Clare was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, and, with a crew of eleven, the Whitbread Round the World Race. It was after writing three works of non-fiction about her adventures,  Come Hell or High Water  (1977),  Come Wind or Weather  (1978), and  The Commanding Sea (1981) that Clare took the leap into fiction.

She is an MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors(1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03).

For the past thirty years she has been commited to the charity Action for ME, of which she is President. She herself has had ME (also known as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for many years.

Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight, and loves opera and walking.

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Clare Francis, 1970’s Round the World Yachtswomen back on the helm after decades

Clare Francis, MBE, 1970’s Round the World Yachtswomen was back on the helm after decades. She joined owner Hal Sisk on Peggy Bawn an 1894 Victorian gentleman’s racing yacht, in the first race of the Cowes Classic’s 2016.

The video is made by bob aylott from great website myclassicboat.com, uncharted waters: krystyna chojnowska-liskiewicz’s solo voyage around the world, 7 bluewater cruising sailboats we love, the inspiring journey of jessica watson, australia’s youngest solo sailor, 76 days adrift: steven callahan’s incredible tale of survival in the atlantic, live your passion, subscribe to our mailing list.

Clare Francis

British sailor and novelist / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, dear wikiwand ai, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:.

Can you list the top facts and stats about Clare Francis?

Summarize this article for a 10 year old

Clare Mary Francis MBE (born 17 April 1946) is a British novelist who in her first career as a yachtswoman has twice sailed across the Atlantic on her own. She was the first woman to captain a successful boat on the Whitbread Around the World race .

Francis was born in Thames Ditton in Surrey and spent summer holidays on the Isle of Wight , where she learned to sail. She was educated at the Royal Ballet School , then gained a degree in economics at University College London . [1]

In 1973, after working in marketing for three years, she took leave to sail singlehandedly across the Atlantic in the Nicholson 32 Gulliver G , [2] departing from Falmouth in Cornwall and arriving, 37 days later, at Newport, Rhode Island . [3] [4] Following this, she received sponsorship to take part in the 1974 Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham, again in Gulliver G . [2] They finished in third place. In 1975, she took part in the Azores and Back and the L'Aurore singlehanded races; and, in 1976, she competed in the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race in her Ohlson 38 yacht Robertson's Golly , finishing thirteenth overall and setting a new women's single-handed transatlantic record . She also took part in that year's L'Aurore singlehanded race. During 1977 and 1978, she became the first woman to skipper a yacht in the Whitbread Round the World Race , finishing in fifth place in her Swan 65 ADC Accutrac . [5]

Personal life

Francis married a draughtsman named Jacques Redon in 1977. He became a crew member on her yacht. They divorced in 1986. The marriage produced one child. [1] Francis suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and is a trustee of the UK charity Action for ME . [6]

After writing three accounts of her sailing experiences, she turned to fiction and is the author of eight best-sellers. [7]

Publications

• Night Sky (1983)
• Red Crystal (1985)
• Wolf Winter (1987)
• Requiem (1989)
• The Killing Winds (1992)
• Deceit (1993)
• Betrayal (1995)
• A Dark Devotion (1997)
• Keep Me Close (1999)
• A Death Divided (2001)
• Homeland (2003)
• Unforgotten (2008)

Short stories

• "The Holiday" (2005), published in The Detection Collection , edited by Simon Brett .

Non-fiction

• Woman Alone (1977)
• Come Hell or High Water (1977)
• Come Wind or Weather (1978)
• The Commanding Sea (1981)
• A Feast of Stories (1996 anthology; co-edited)
• [2] "Gulliver G" . Archived from the original on 9 May 2022 . Retrieved 9 May 2022 .
• [3] Who's Who , 1986.
• [4] Poole, Shawna Crawford (7 January 1977). "When the best moments are also some of the worst" . The Times . p.   9.
• [5] "Volvo Ocean Race | History - 1977-1978" . Archived from the original on 8 April 2014 . Retrieved 3 March 2014 .
• [6] Action for ME homepage.
• [7] Clare Francis at fantasticfiction.co.uk.

External links

• Clare Francis's website
• Photos of Robertson's Golly

Clare Francis

Offshore sailing has always been a male dominated sport and in its 40-year history only around five per cent of crew in the Whitbread and Volvo editions of the race have been women. But one of the first was Clare Francis.

She was the first female skipper of the race, leading ADC Accutrac to fifth place in the 1977-78 race, but her journey to the start line was an unlikely one. Growing up, she trained as a ballerina before studying economics at University College, London.

Afterwards, she worked in marketing, but quit after three years to go travelling. Having learnt to sail as a child on the Isle of Wight, she bought a small boat and sailed across the Atlantic. She set out from Falmouth and arrived in Rhode Island 37 days later.

This led to sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham where they finished in third place. In 1975, she took part in the Azores and Back and the L'Aurore singlehanded race; and the following year she competed in the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, finishing thirteenth overall and setting a new women's single-handed transatlantic record.

This was her apprenticeship to leading a crew of 11 – of whom two others were women – in the Whitbread Round the World Race. Besides her seamanship during the Whitbread, Francis is also fondly remembered for leading a conga straight into the swimming pool during a riotous party at a local yacht club – this being in the days when hedonistic events fuelled by sponsor beer were not uncommon.

During her first transatlantic voyage Francis had used the time to read, listen to music and try her hand at writing, which led to three books about her adventures at sea: Hell or High Water (1977) and Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981).

Following this success she turned her hand to fiction and has since published numerous best-selling novels. Her career in sailing may have been short – but it paved the way for other women to follow in her wake and prove that women were just as capable as men.

Pierre Fehlmann

Alain gabbay, franck cammas, paul cayard, john kostecki, mike sanderson, torben grael, grant dalton, eric tabarly, lawrie smith, lionel péan, sir peter blake, magnus olsson, cornelis van rietschoten, tracy edwards, ramón carlín.

Pioneering yachtswoman Clare Francis joins Maritime Media Awards 2016 to champion ‘women in maritime’

Posted on October 10, 2016 |

The shortlist for the 2016 Maritime Media Awards has been revealed today ahead of the October celebration which will this year champion the importance of women in maritime.

The national event will be attended by leading lights and dignitaries from the maritime sector including Clare Francis MBE, one of the first women to sail the Trans-Atlantic single handed, and senior Royal Navy Officer Vice Admiral Jonathan Woodcock OBE.

Hosted by the Maritime Foundation the annual awards honour work which deepens understanding of maritime issues and particularly Britain’s dependence on the sea.

It includes the coveted Desmond Wettern Award for Best Maritime Journalist. Additional Awards will be handed out for Best writer/author, Best Film/Television documentary and Best Digital Media contributions. The awards evening is set to take place at the Institute of Directors, 116 Pall Mall, London, on Tuesday, October 25.

Maritime Foundation and judging panel chairman Julian Parker OBE said this year’s shortlist (see notes to editors) showcases outstanding contributions from across the maritime community over the last 12 months.

“The key theme for this year’s media awards is women in maritime,” he said. “We will be using this platform to raise greater awareness of the remarkable work being carried out by women in maritime across the globe within ships, on shore, in ports, in finance and business.

“In the Royal Navy some 30pc of all ship’s crews are female with new provision to include billets on submarines. When it comes to research in areas such as marine biology, environmental studies, and oceanography we are also witnessing increasing impact from women producing highly valuable work. It is a subject which we believe needs greater recognition and understanding.”

The Maritime Foundation is a charity promoting Britain’s interests across the entire maritime sector. Its purpose is to inform and raise public and parliamentary awareness of the importance of Britain’s maritime industries, commerce and defence. It takes action through education, training and research, as well as the annual awards.

“Immediately before the EU referendum the Maritime Foundation held a high level briefing to consider some of the detailed issues facing fisheries, shipping and defence,” he said. “Britain’s dependence on the seas can be easily overlooked. However, the maritime services sector for example is estimated to be worth circa £13billion to the UK economy. The key to raising public awareness about the importance of the sea and global interrelated maritime issues is through media exposure.

“This places a serious responsibility on media personnel to look wider than internal affairs. The Maritime Foundation presents the Maritime Media Awards to give recognition to those journalists, writers, programme makers and social media users, who step outside the theatre of domestic politics and expose the facts about the UK’s dependence on the sea for its economic prosperity and security. As a Foundation we are encouraged to see growing recognition that Britain’s economic recovery will largely depend on re-establishing itself as a major global exporting nation through looking to the sea. However, if we are to truly succeed on this front we must ensure Britain remains a proud and progressive seafaring nation at its very core.”

“This year the Maritime Media Awards is set to be a multi-cultural and multi-layered event with a greater number of international entries than ever before. As ever we have been highly encouraged by the breadth of topics covered as well as the intellectual rigour, detailed study and imagination from our applicants.

“The awards are a charitable event which aim to provide recognition to those people who have prominently promoted maritime themes. It is an ideal opportunity to meet other media colleagues and also discover the new subjects and innovative communication methods available in this fast moving digital era.”

The judging committee includes a panel of 17 eminent maritime personalities. Places are still available for the 2016 Maritime Media Awards and dinner reservation forms can be found via the following web address: https://www.maritimefoundation.uk/awards/forms/ or by contacting event organiser Sophie Brown via email [email protected] .

Reception will be held in the Waterloo Room at 18.30 followed by dinner at 19.15 and the presentation of the Awards in the Nash Room. Proceedings will end at around 22.30.

Notes to editors:

Nomination for this year’s Maritime Media Awards 2016 are listed at https://www.maritimefoundation.uk/awards/nominations/

Award categories:

• Desmond Wettern Media Award – for best journalistic contribution.
• Mountbatten Award – for best literary contribution.
• Donald Gosling Award – for best television and film contribution.
• The First Sea Lord’s Digital Media Award – for the team or person who has made the most constructive contribution to generating awareness of current maritime issues specifically produced and uploaded through digital media outlets.
• Maritime Fellowship Award – to honour an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to stimulating public engagement in maritime issues.
• Desmond Wettern Fleet Award – handed to the HM ship, submarine, Naval Air Squadron or Royal Marine Unit that is judged to have made the best contribution to a positive image of the Royal Navy.

The Maritime Foundation

• The Maritime Foundation is a not for profit organisation promoting Britain’s interests across the entire maritime sector. Its purpose is to inform and raise public and parliamentary awareness of the importance of Britain’s maritime industries, commerce and defence through education, training and research, as well as through the Foundation’s annual Maritime Media Awards.
• The Maritime Media Awards were established in 1995, in memory of Desmond Wettern, former naval correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. The Desmond Wettern Media Award was initiated to give recognition to those journalists who do most to create public awareness of maritime matters. The Awards have since grown into a national event
• Across the decades there have been many notable and worthy winners. An early recipient was renowned maritime journalist Michael Grey back in 1998. Captain Richard Woodman was honoured in 2011 for his landmark series of books charting A History of the British Merchant Navy. Other notable winners have been Professor Nicholas Rogers for his authoritative book The Command of the Ocean and Professor Callum Roberts for his campaigning thesis on Sea of Life. More recently Dan Snow was commended for his outstanding television series Empire of the Seas and Rose George for her illuminating book Deep Sea and Foreign Going.

Leaving the sea for a life of crime

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the name "clare francis" if it's the distinguished british crime writer, author….

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the name "Clare Francis"? If it's the distinguished British crime writer, author of such best-sellings novels as A Dark Devotion, Deceit, Betrayal and Requiem then you will have made Francis's day. However, if you associate her first with the moniker of internationally acclaimed yachtswoman, Clare Francis will not be happy at all.

Both incarnations are true. In 1973, she crossed the Atlantic single-handed, and three years late or she took the women's record in the Observer Transatlantic Race, with a crossing in 29 days. In 1977, she was the first woman skipper to participate in the biggest race of the lot, the Whitbread Round the World Race. There was immense media interest in all of these events. Since then, she has not sailed, and she dislikes any reminder of her nautical career. Why?

"Particularly in Britain, people don't like you to move on. In Britain, I feel I disappoint people by being a writer. They want me to live by the sea (she lives in London). There's a feeling in the media there that they made me in my sailing days, and I should be happy to stick with the image they created. The British have a sickly adoration for heroes in the old mould. I felt for a long time like Sean Connery - trying to shake off this early association. Him with Bond. Me with the sailing."

Clare Francis certainly does not look like the cliched image of a sea-dog. Dressed in a smart black suit, and with the classic type of bone-deep beauty which age never cheats, she has an aura of effortless elegance. If she looks this amazing now, a quarter of a century ago the media must have been calling her the Seventies equivalent of a babe. No wonder they were annoyed when she kicked off her deck shoes.

"What matters to me these days is the people who read my books," she states firmly. Since 1983, she has been writing crime novels. The first was Night Sky, which was hugely successful. BBC 1 will be showing a two-part adaptation of Deceit in the spring, starring Francesca Annis and Peter O'Brien. Her latest novel is Keep Me Close, which features an Irish entrepreneur called Terry Devlin, who has just opened "the finest hotel in Dublin", The Kavanagh five star: Ireland's booming economy of the late 90s makes it into fiction. Paddy Kavanagh would surely be chuffed.

"I try to write a book every two years," Francis explains. "In fact, I'm trying to step up production, because I only feel happy when I'm working. When I'm writing a book, I have more free time, because the time I have, I really enjoy. I suppose it's a bit of a puritanical attitude."

Why the fascination with the crime genre? "I enjoy investigating the moral dimensions of humanity. Morality fascinates me. You might say that I have faith in human nature. Given the right conditions, I believe it verges towards the good. Morality is an elastic concept."

Later on, she says that the quality she would most like to have is that of serenity, though actually she seems to exude this naturally. She says she never has nightmares when she's writing or researching her novels. "Usually the terrible event has happened before the book opens," she points out.

Suspense is the key element. "I think a crime writer can learn so much from one of Hitchcock's films. He really was the master of suspense. Of course, he worked through the visual medium. Writers have to spell things out a little more. My favourite Hitchcock would have to be Rebecca. Both as a book and as a film it broke all the rules. You know, the ending at the beginning."

AS for writers in her genre, the one she most admires is Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine. She does follow certain cases that are reported in the papers, but rarely gets her ideas in this way. Like every other crime/suspense novelist since the oldfashioned and class-snobbish Agatha Christie (who got away with calling one of her most successful books, Ten Little Niggers), Francis thinks that DNA has changed both the nature of crime solving and crime writing.

"The old-fashioned detective who relies on an understanding of human nature has given way to DNA profiling. It's very hard for anyone to commit a crime now and not leave any evidence. In France, for instance, there's always been this tradition in the villages of writing poison pen letters. Now they think they can extract DNA from stamps that were licked 20 years ago. DNA has revolutionised detection. The great tradition of sleuthing and amateur sleuths is gone. But the crime novel will always adapt. It's a wide church now."

Keep Me Close, by Clare Francis, is published by Macmillan at £16.99

Rosita Boland

Rosita Boland is Senior Features Writer with The Irish Times. She was named NewsBrands Ireland Journalist of the Year for 2018

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• Yachtswoman, author, ME spokeswoman Clare Francis MBE to…

Yachtswoman, author, ME spokeswoman Clare Francis MBE to give talk in aid of Save Valletta’s Skyline

The Save Valletta’s Skyline appeal has, over the past few years, organised a series of fascinating cultural events to raise money to fund vital restoration work on St Paul’s Pro-Cathedral in Valletta. The next event in the series is ‘A Life in Parallels’ – a talk by Clare Francis, author, yachtswoman, adventurer and public speaker. Ms Francis has led an eclectic life, and she will be sharing aspects of her multifaceted careers with her audience.

Born in Surrey, England, Ms Francis spent much of her childhood in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed her love of the landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Her summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.

Ms Francis then spent five years at the Royal Ballet School, got her A-levels and read for a degree in Economics at University College London. Working in marketing for a few years led her to take a year out to travel and discover what she really wanted to do.

This time out for some self-reflection led to the launch of what Ms Francis calls her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. This was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic. Soon after, she was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham, followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, and the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race. At a petite 5'2", Ms Francis is the smallest person to ever sail the Atlantic. She went on to set a new women's single-handed transatlantic record in 1976 and was also the first woman to skipper a yacht in the Whitbread Round the World Race.

Fearless and focused, Ms Francis faced all sorts of weather conditions in her time at sea - including storms, gales, and ferociously rough seas. Yet, despite these challenges from nature, she rarely feared for her life. In a 1980 interview with the BBC she said: "I've always felt very secure on the deck of a boat, because after sailing for many years, you get a special instinct for what the waves are doing."

Ms Francis' many sea-faring adventures inspired three works of non-fiction - Come Hell or High Water (1977), Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981). Her success in this area led her to write fiction. What followed was a series of acclaimed thrillers and crime novels. Night Sky was published in 1983 to international success. It went to number one in the Sunday Times bestseller list and spent six weeks in the New York Times top 10. More thrillers followed, as did a highly-acclaimed literary novel, Homeland . Her last crime novel Unforgotten was published in 2008.

Ms Francis' myriad achievements have earned her an MBE. She is also a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors (1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03). For the past 30 years she has been committed to the charity Action for ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Encephalopathy), of which she is President. She herself has had ME for many years.

Not merely targeted at sailing enthusiasts or book lovers, but anyone with an interest in powerful, fascinating and inspiring human stories, A Life in Parallels - A talk by Clare Francis , will be held on 3 October at the Royal Malta Yacht Club, Ta' Xbiex Seafront, Ta' Xbiex. Tickets are priced at €25 per person, including wine and canapés. To book, please email [email protected]

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BRAZIL: BRITISH YACHT, ADC ACCUTRAC, SKIPPERED BY YACHTSWOMAN, CLARE FRANCIS, COMPLETES THIRD LEG OF WHITBREAD ROUND-THE-WORLD RACE.

• Title: BRAZIL: BRITISH YACHT, ADC ACCUTRAC, SKIPPERED BY YACHTSWOMAN, CLARE FRANCIS, COMPLETES THIRD LEG OF WHITBREAD ROUND-THE-WORLD RACE.
• Date: 2nd February 1978
• Summary: 1. GV, ADC ACCUTRAC enters Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janerio 0.24 2. GV, ADC, ACCUTRAC SKIPPER, Claire Francis at helm (2 shots) 0.43 3. GV, ADC ACCU???RAC crossing bay. (4 shots) 1.15 First across the line in Brazil was the French entry Pen Duick Six, skippered by Eric Tabarly, noted for his singlehanded sailing exploits. However, a protest has been entered concerning his yacht, which has a keel of uranium which is no longer radioactive. The race organisers have ruled that keels may not be of any material denser than lead and are deliberating whether Pen Duick Six will be allowed to finish the race as an official competitor. Initials SPORT: YACHTING Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
• Embargoed: 17th February 1978 12:00
• Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
• Country: Brazil
• Reuters ID: LVA6TERU8LCCOE2EE9UDQ2AZUO7Z
• Story Text: Yachting, and in Brazil, contestants in the Whitbread Round the-World race are arriving after completing the third leg from Auckland in New Zealand. SYNOPSIS: Among those to arrive at Guanabara Bay on Tuesday (31 January) was yachts-woman Clare Francis whose yacht, ADC accutrac was seventh across the line and is also in seventh place on handicap. The ADC ACCU TRAC was one of four yachts to finish the third leg on Tuesday. Clare's yacht is a Swan 65, like two others among the 16 conte???tants in the race. She bought it last year and had it refitted especially for the race. The winner of the first Whitbread Round-the-World race was also a Swan 65. Clare is no newcomer to sailing - she started when she was five years old and she's gained an impressive list of credits. She's raced singlehanded across the Atlantic, finishing 13th out of 125 starters. She finished third in the 1974 Round Britain race, and has been awarded the Royal Yacht Squadron of England's Chichester award for single-handed sailing achievements in 1976.
• Copyright Holder: REUTERS
• Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
• Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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Clare Francis

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Clare Francis is a successful novelist and yachtswoman who, after sailing solo across the Atlantic in 1973, joined Eve Bonham in the Round Britain Race. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race – during which she set a new women's singlehanded transatlantic record – and the Whitbread Round the World Race.

Following these adventures she wrote three works of non-fiction, Come Hell or High Water , Come Wind or Weather and The Commanding Sea , about her time at sea.

It was after this that she turned her attention to fiction. Her first novel, Night Sky , received international success, topping the Sunday Times bestseller list and spending six weeks in the New York Times Top 10. Since then her books have been published in 20 languages and in more than 30 countries.

Clare Francis is a Wexas Honorary President, but is the only President who does not sit on Traveller's Honorary Editorial Board.

Clare Francis is the author of:

• Come Hell or High Water (1977)
• Come Wind or Weather (1978)
• The Commanding Sea (1981)
• Night Sky (1983)
• Red Crystal (1985)
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'My son was peppered by a mortar bomb and now I can't write a word': Painful secret that left best-selling author Clare Francis with writer's block for five years

By Angela Levin for MailOnline

Published: 17:00 EST, 5 May 2012 | Updated: 17:00 EST, 5 May 2012

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Stunned: Clare Francis suffered writer's block after hearing news that her soldier son Tom had been injured in Afghanistan

For hours on end, Clare Francis would stare at the blank page on her computer screen, the ideas, which usually flowed so easily, simply refusing to come.

Working on her previous books – 14 of them, including eight bestselling thrillers – she would often write all day, sometimes seven days a week.

But now she found herself seized by an inability to write anything.

In her mind’s eye, normally so adept at conjuring up vivid scenes and colourful characters, she could see only the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Helmand province.

She had been left dazed by news that her soldier son had been injured in Afghanistan.

Back in the Seventies, Clare was best known for being a brilliant yachtswoman who twice sailed the Atlantic single-handed.

But for the past 30 years, she has experienced extraordinary success as the author of psychological crime novels.

Since her first – Night Sky in 1983 – she has sold millions of books and been translated into 20 languages. Her work has made her millions and she is adored by her fans. And yet since 2007, she has written nothing.

That was the year her only son, Tom, a soldier serving in Afghanistan, was injured in a Taliban mortar explosion. She has been struggling for nearly five years to come to terms with the incident.

It prompted her to think, ‘What is life all about?’ – a question she still ponders today.

Her devoted fans obviously knew she had stopped writing – but not the reason why.

A recent apologetic note on her website gave little away, saying only: ‘I’m sorry, but there won’t be a new book this year after all. Life and events, good and bad, have conspired to get in the way.’

Clare, now 66, revealed to The Mail on Sunday the story behind her cryptic message. ‘Tom had always been determined to go into the Army,’ she says. ‘I wanted him to do something that would make him happy and never tried to dissuade him.

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‘He was a 28-year-old lieutenant in The Rifles regiment out in Afghanistan. He had eight British soldiers and 30 Afghan soldiers in his platoon. Around Christmas in 2007, he was on foot patrol from a remote base somewhere in Helmand province.

‘We used to speak once or twice a fortnight and he always said how quiet it was – but I have since discovered soldiers are encouraged to lie to avoid worrying their families.

‘Unbeknown to me, Tom had been moved to a hotspot where they needed reinforcements. They went into a village and there was a mortar explosion. One of the Afghan soldiers was injured and Tom’s arm was peppered with shrapnel, with one piece nicking a vein.

When the helicopter came for the injured Afghan, Tom was told he should also go to the military hospital.

‘He rang from the hospital to say his injuries were minor, that he’d had a few stitches and was OK. I was really shocked. Although there were many terrible casualties at the time, I had forced myself to close off the possibility of anything happening to him and hadn’t realised how worried I’d been until that moment.’

So close: Clare in 1994 with her only son, Tom, whom she brought up single-handed

Clare is usually remarkably self- reliant. She brought up Tom single-handed after divorcing his father Jacques, a fellow sailor, when their son was six. But this news shook her to the core and she turned to others for comfort.

‘I talked a lot to the parents of one of Tom’s friends who had returned from duty, because I knew they would understand what I was going through,’ she says.

‘They were very helpful but I still couldn’t concentrate on writing. I no longer wanted to escape into my fantasy world with my characters, something I had, until then, always found easy. Instead I wanted to stay with the reality of what was happening.’

She looks a little sheepish as she explains that before Tom suffered his injury, she had bought a terrier puppy ‘to help me cope when Tom was away, to keep me company and give me a focus’.

Block: In Clare Fancis' mind¿s eye, she could see only the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Helmand province

‘I called him Bertie,’ Clare says. ‘He was an absolute poppet, full of character and energy, and I poured all my emotions into him.

‘People who don’t have dogs don’t understand that they are like children. They depend on you utterly and love you unconditionally. I am cautious, self-protective and don’t give easily of myself but I loved Bertie completely.’

So it is little wonder she was distressed when Bertie became ill when he was just ten weeks old – and died just over three months later.

Achievements: Yachtswoman Clare Francis with a replica of her boat 'Robertson's Golly'

She says: ‘My relationship with Bertie had become very deep and it was also quite complex. I had a child who was grown-up but in a dangerous place, which made me feel very vulnerable. And I also had a substitute child at home who was unwell.

‘I kept finding Bertie’s bed covered with thick stuff from his nose. One vet thought it might be an obstruction and suggested an operation, another said it might be distemper. But as he seemed to be getting better I didn’t want him to have unnecessary interventions.’

Sadly, the recovery was short-lived.

‘I kept taking him back to the vet and it was only when he had a blood test when he was six months old that I learned he had canine parvovirus, a disease that had destroyed his gut. He died shortly afterwards and I was absolutely devastated.’ Bertie’s death came five weeks after Tom was injured and the incidents made Clare reassess her life.

‘I was finding it harder and harder to go into my study and work,’ she says. I had been writing fiction for 30 years – hard solid graft on my own. I always demanded so much of myself – always thought I could do better and always given myself a hard time.

I suddenly remembered the words of a concerned friend who had said to me, “Clare, what is the good of dying rich if you haven’t had a good life?” What happened to Tom and Bertie brought her words back to me.

‘I decided I wanted more reality in my life and instead of trying to write, I would engage more emotionally with friends and family – I have a sister who has three children and they also have children – and nurture that side of me. I was offered another terrier but couldn’t replace Bertie straight away.’  

When Clare took stock of her life, she decided to move house. ‘I had lived in a beautiful five-bedroom house in Kensington for 28 years but, as Tom had moved out in his early 20s, I had much more room than I needed. It was the perfect time to change.

‘It took me a while to find somewhere else but I am now in the middle of totally renovating a newly acquired three-bedroom house in Kensington, which I am thoroughly enjoying. I am also having lots of fun. I go to art exhibitions with friends and then stay out for lunch, something I would have felt far too guilty about before.

Accomplished: Clare Francis was a brilliant yachtswoman who twice sailed the Atlantic single-handed

‘It took two years for the guilt about not working all the time to wear off. But once I stopped work, everyone said they had never seen me so relaxed. A year after Bertie died I got two more terriers, Biskey and Red, who make me laugh.

'I take them for a proper walk first thing and then go to the building site of my new house to project-manage it all. I am learning to play bridge, which is great fun and good for the brain.’

What is the wildest thing she has done? She laughs. ‘Wild by my standards is probably not wild by other people’s, but I think it was going on the London-to-Brighton Veteran Car Run in a neighbour’s very old car in pouring rain.’

Her change of lifestyle had another consequence: ‘I’ve had a lovely romance, which came to a natural end last December.’ She laughs but refuses to say more. ‘I am newly single so anything could happen.’

Clare usually hates talking about her sailing days and during an earlier conversation had chided me more than once for mentioning the subject. ‘It all happened so long ago, why can’t people move on and see me in a different light?’ she had said.

However, now she raises it herself. ‘I haven’t felt this carefree since my first trip across the Atlantic in my 20s,’ she says.

‘I wasn’t in a race and I swanned around the world doing odd jobs in the West Indies and west coast of America to earn money for food. I never worried where the next penny was coming from and had a wonderful time.’

Clare, who at 5ft 1in is petite and dainty, had to draw on all her willpower when she contracted ME shortly after her divorce 22 years ago. For four years she was so ill she could manage only to crawl out of bed to write for a couple of hours each day.

Heavy price: British troops have seen fierce fighting and suffered heavy casualties during combat in Helmand Province in Afghanistan

‘At one point I couldn’t handle bright light or loud noises,’ she says. ‘Luckily I was one of the 60 per cent of sufferers who recover – though are never quite the same. It took me about ten years to feel better.

‘Although I have recently resigned as trustee of the charity Action For ME, I remain its president. The charity is one of my great passions.’  

Does she wish she had taken a long break much earlier?

Clare says: ‘I had very different choices. I would have loved to have had more children and be living with someone, but that is not the way things turn out. I worked because I had to support my son and bring him up. Tom, who is now a captain, did a second tour in Helmand last summer but this time working in intelligence.

‘He was still in the middle of nowhere but sitting behind a computer. He is back in the UK now and has a steady girlfriend, Christa, who is super. She is a primary school teacher from a Service family – which helps, as she understands.  

‘Overall, I am incredibly optimistic that life is going to be fantastic.’

So, she has adjusted her life-work balance and she has her adored son back in Britain. She is happy. What her legions of fans now want to know is, will she write again?

‘Stories never stop whirring round my head and I’ve put lots of thoughts in my ideas file,’ she says. ‘When I move into my new home, hopefully in September, I want to come back to writing. I should feel really fresh, but this time I want to find the right balance between a wonderful real life and a wonderful fantasy life.

‘It might be tough finding it, but that is what I shall try to do.’

But how would she feel if she didn’t write again? She pauses, then says: ‘I would be sad not to exercise my craft as a storyteller, which I enjoy so much. I would also feel a responsibility to my loyal readers.

‘At the same time, I am excited by the idea of going where life takes me – and at the moment that could be anywhere.’

• For more information about ME visit www.actionforme.org.uk.

Share or comment on this article: Painful secret that left best-selling author Clare Francis with writer's block for five years: My son was peppered by a mortar bomb... and now I can't write a word

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