Often tested
Sailing, rowing, motor racing and skiing
Water sports: a seafaring tradition
Britain is surrounded by sea, and sailing has always been popular, a sign of the country's long history as a seafaring nation.
- In 1966–67 the British sailor Sir Francis Chichester became the first person to sail around the world on his own, going round the southern tips of two continents: the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and Cape Horn in South America. When he got home in 1967, Elizabeth II knighted him with the same sword that Elizabeth I had used almost four hundred years earlier to knight Francis Drake, the first Englishman to lead a voyage around the world (see "The Spanish Armada").
- Sir Robin Knox-Johnston went one better two years later: he sailed alone around the world without stopping once, the first person ever to do so.
- There are sailing events all over the UK. The best-known takes place at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight.
- Rowing is popular both as a hobby and as a competitive sport. Every year Oxford and Cambridge Universities race each other on the River Thames, and lots of people watch. This Boat Race began in 1829 and is rowed on the Thames in south-west London, from Putney to Mortlake, a distance of about 6.8 km.
Motor racing: since 1902
Britain has a long history of motor sport, for both cars and motorbikes, and car racing began here in 1902. The UK is still a world leader in designing and building motor-sport technology. Every year Britain hosts a Formula 1 Grand Prix, and several British drivers have become Formula 1 world champion. Recent ones include Damon Hill, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. The British Grand Prix is usually held at Silverstone, in the English Midlands, and the first ever Formula 1 World Championship race was held there on 13 May 1950.
Skiing: no snow needed
Skiing is becoming more and more popular in the UK. Lots of people take skiing holidays abroad, but you can also practise on dry slopes around the country, and in winter there is sometimes real snow to ski on. Scotland has five ski centres, and Europe's longest dry ski slope is near Edinburgh.
Quiz
Who was the first person to sail alone around the world without stopping?
Chichester was the first to sail around the world alone (1966/67, with a stop on the way). Two years later, Knox-Johnston made the first solo voyage without stopping. MacArthur made the fastest solo voyage in 2004, and Redgrave is a rower.
Quiz
Every year, students from which two universities race each other in rowing boats on the River Thames?
It's Oxford and Cambridge. Their yearly race on the Thames shows that rowing is popular as a competitive sport as well as a hobby.