Famed sailor Hal Roth dies at 81

Posted on 19 November 2008

International bluewater sailor and author Hal Roth died this fall after a long illness. He was 81.

Roth and his wife, Margaret, devoted more than 40 years to sailing the world’s oceans, beginning in the mid-1960s when they quit their jobs to embark on a 19-month trip around the Pacific.

The Roths sailed around the world together in the early 1980s, and Hal Roth later competed in two solo around-the-world races. He published 12 books over the years about their adventures. His final book, “Handling Storms at Sea,” was recently published.

Roth died Oct. 25 in Easton, Md.