page_title: Ben Carlin
section_title: Failure of first attempts
hierarchical_section_title: Ben Carlin / Circumnavigation / Failure of first attempts
caption_attribution_description: English: A photograph of w:Ben Carlin's craft Half-Safe leaving New York Harbor in 1948.
context_page_description: Frederick Benjamin "Ben" Carlin was an Australian adventurer who was the first person to circumnavigate the world in an amphibious vehicle. Born in Northam, Western Australia, Carlin attended Guildford Grammar School in Perth, and later studied mining engineering at the Kalgoorlie School of Mines. After qualifying as an engineer, he worked on the Goldfields before in 1939 emigrating to China to work in a British coal mine. In the Second World War, Carlin was posted to the Indian Army Corps of Engineers, serving in India, Italy, and throughout the Middle East. After his discharge from service in 1946, he emigrated to the United States with his American wife, Elinore.
  Sparked by an idea he had had whilst in the military, Carlin proposed that the couple honeymoon by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a modified Ford GPA, which they named the Half-Safe. Beginning their trip in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the Carlins finally completed the transatlantic crossing in 1951, after unsuccessful attempts. From there, they travelled to Europe, temporarily settling in Birmingham to raise more money.
context_section_description: The couple began testing their craft in 1947, and experienced problems with carbon monoxide removal, with the vessel's enclosed structure potentially increasing the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning. The Carlins chose Montreal, Quebec, Canada, as the official starting point of their circumnavigation attempt. They set out from the city in late 1947 for New York City, where they were to launch Half-Safe for the first time, with the intention of crossing the Atlantic via the Azores. A trial run was made in early January 1948, watched by "crowds of sceptical waterside workers". The couple's first attempt to complete the transatlantic crossing occurred on 16 June 1948, launching from New York Harbor. Cheered on by "100 amazed wharf labourers", they were first washed up-river by a strong tide, but then made their way out into the Atlantic at a speed of five knots. The Carlins failed to maintain radio contact, prompting a search by the United States Coast Guard. The craft was eventually landed five days after its departure, 40 miles (64 km) south of New York City near the Shark River inlet in New Jersey. The couple had experienced problems with the steering gear and rudder, which made the vessel unable to steer at sea unless the wheel was constantly manned. With Half-Safe sailed back to New York, the Carlins commenced their journey for a second time on 3 July, but were once again forced back to shore a few days later, this time after nearly being asphyxiated due to a cracked exhaust pipe.
  A third attempt was made in late July, but was again not successful due to the mechanical troubles and heavy seasickness the Carlins experienced. The Carlins set out for a fourth time in early August, and progressed further, being sighted several days after their launch by an American destroyer almost 200 miles (320 km) off of New York. However, the couple soon lost radio contact, prompting Pan-American Airways to direct their crews to search for their craft. Half-Safe and the Carlins were finally rescued approximately 270 miles (430 km) off New York by the oil tanker New Jersey, bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Seven days into the voyage, a propeller bearing had welded itself fast due to lack of lubrication, leaving the vessel to drift aimlessly for a further ten days without means of steering it or navigating. According to a message Carlin radioed from the tanker to his friends in New York, the couple "drifted and fished", enjoying a "pleasant life, cheaper than Atlantic City". At the time of the couple's rescue, he considered abandoning the entire voyage, but was convinced to continue by the tanker's Norwegian captain, who greeted Carlin with the words: "Hell, you're not going to leave that god-damned Jeep lying around?!"
caption: The Carlins sailed past the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor on one of their first circumnavigation attempts in 1948.
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