Matt Rutherford (sailor)

Matthew Rutherford (born 1980) is a sailor, best known for his 2011 solo circumnavigation of the Americas in a 27-foot Albin Vega designed sloop called the St. Brendan (named for St Bendan the Navigator).
===Early life===
Matthew Rutherford was born in Ohio in 1980. His parents are Marlowe and Doug Rutherford.
===Early Sailing experiences===
In 2004 Rutherford bought his first sailboat, a 1969 Coronado 25, sight unseen, from the internet for US$2,000. At the time he had no sailing experience sailing and learned through experience, making numerous mistakes as he sailed on his maiden voyage from the Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Keys. He lost that boat in a hurricane in 2004 and bought a damaged Pearson 323 which he refitted.
By 2008 he had accumulated enough experience to sail the Pearson 323 solo across the Atlantic Ocean, spending a year sailing from the North Sea to West Africa, including a 200 mile trip up the Gambia River, before voyaging back across the Atlantic to the Caribbean in 2009. 
On his return to the USA he started doing volunteer work for Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB), a small non-profit in Annapolis, Maryland. CRAB helps people with disabilities to go sailing. 
In 2010, Rutherford asked CRAB’s executive director Rutherford, ‘Why don't you let me take one of your small sailboats up to the Arctic and we'll try to raise some money for the organization?’ The director agreed and offered Rutherford a recently donated 38-year-old 27-Foot Albin Vega sloop. Over the next 10 months, Rutherford, assisted by other volunteers prepared the boat for the voyage. During preparations the scope of the voyage expanded. When Rutherford set sale from Annapolis in 2011, he was planning to become the first person to circumnavigate the Americas, non-stop and alone.
===Circumnavigating the Americas===
Rutherford set off from Annapolis Maryland on 13 June 2011, sailing north from Chesapeake Bay. He had not sailed aboard the St Brendan before setting off on his circumnavigation voyage.
The voyage took Rutherford up the east coast of the USA and Canada. then up the west coast of Greenland into Baffin Bay to a northerly most point of 75° 21' north before undertaking the north-west passage, the smallest boat ever to successfully undertake the passage. The voyage continued south across the Pacific and around Cape Horn before sailing north in the Atlantic back to Annapolis.
Less than 2 weeks into the voyage, Rutherford's hand-pumped water-maker broke. With a satellite phone call and help from a friend in Annapolis, a replacement water-maker was arranged and delivered to Rutherford in a rendezvous off Newfoundland on 30 July 2011.
On 25 September 2011, a second resupply was arranged by his friend in Annapolis and off Dutch Harbour Alaska, Rutherford met a local coat which delivered a replacement inverter and 20 gallons of diesel.
Sailing south, Rutherford reached the equator on 13 November 2011, having been at sea for 152 days and covering 13,334 nautical miles.
He rounded Cape Horn on 5 January 2012, the 208th day of the voyage. 
A third resupply was arranged and on 1 March 2012, Rutherford met a local boat of Recife Brazil where he took possession of a replacement starter crank for am increasing difficult engine.
Rutherford returned to Annapolis on 21 April 2012 after 309 days at sea, raising a total of US$120,000 for CRAB.
===After the Circumnavigation===
The intention of this research is to carry out observations on the physical-biological baseline activity in these Arctic waters. Establishing this baseline will help future research projects to determine the status of these marine ecosystems as the climate changes.
===Film and Podcast===
Rutherford's circumnavigation of the Americas was the subject of a documentary film by Amy Flannery "Red Dot on the Ocean: The Matt Rutherford Story" made in 2014. Rutherford's voyage has also been the subject of a series of episodes on The Explorers Podcast, which focuses on voyages of exploration through history hosted by Matt Breen.The first of the three Rutherford episodes was released on 7 Feb 2023.
===Awards===
Matt Rutherford was named the 2021 Young Voyager Award winner by the Cruising Club of America
Category:1980 births
Category:People from Ohio
Category:Sailors