Harold La Borde

Who is Harold La Borde?

Harold La Borde is a famous Trinidadian sailor and adventurer who in 1969 to 1973 circumnavigated the world in his 40 ft ketch, 'Hummingbird II'. He was accompanied by his wife, Kwailan, and his five year old son Pierre. As the first known Trinidadian sailors to cross the Atlantic and later to circumnavigate, Harold and Kwailan were awarded the nation's highest honor – the Gold Trinity Cross.

Harold was born in Trinidad, West Indies, in 1933, of parents with a rich mixture of blood in their veins – French, African, Spanish and Amerindian. He was educated at a local Roman Catholic school and began his sailing career by building dinghies, in which he taught himself the rudiments of seamanship, and reading any book about deep sea sailing that he could lay his hands on. Harold La Borde was determined to get a suitable boat, opting to build one himself.

In his first book, An Ocean to Ourselves, La Borde tells how he built a 26' ketch 'Humming Bird'. Harold and Kwailan, who were married in 1959, made their maiden voyage in the 26-foot vessel, 'Humming Bird', to England in 1960, together with a friend, Buck Wong Chong.