Tributes Paid To Tom McNally

15 June 2017

Over many years, Liverpudlian Tom McNally attempted to set the world record for crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a small boat.

Tom finally achieved this in 1993 when he sailed his 5ft 4.5 inch boat, Vera Hugh, from Lisbon (Portugal) to Ft. Lauderdale in Florida (USA) via Puerto Rico.

Even more amazing was the fact the boat was partly built out of an old discarded wardrobe and that the hatch was made out of an old washing machine door!

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, his daughter, Lorraine, paid tribute to her father, who was known as the “crazy sailor” as a result of his exploits, many of which raised money for cancer charities including Sail 4 Cancer.

Lorraine said:

“My dad was an absolutely incredible man, some of the stories he told were unbelievable, he had such a fulfilled life. He was a very clever, kind and loving man and would do anything for anyone.

“Over the years he must have raised hundreds of thousands for cancer charities and I’m just so proud to be his daughter. Everyone talks about his sailing exploits, but to me he was just my amazing dad.”

Tom McNally was always passionate about the sea, and bought this first boat, Anisor, sailing it across the Atlantic with next to no sailing experience.  Aiming for the Caribbean, he ended up in Brazil.

He did other more traditional Atlantic crossings before he decided to go after Hugo Vilhen’s 1968 world record for crossing the Atlantic in a small boat ( Vilhen’s April Fool was 5ft 11 inches).

Everyone at Sail 4 Cancer would like to thank Tom for all his support over the years.  He will be sorely missed.