Robert Manry
![Robert Manry and ''Tinkerbelle'' on the cover of his 1967 book](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c2/Tinkerbelle_by_Robert_Manry.jpg/150px-Tinkerbelle_by_Robert_Manry.jpg)
At the time, ''Tinkerbelle'' was the shortest but not the smallest boat to make a non-stop trip across the Atlantic Ocean (till today the smallest is Lindemann's folding kayak). Manry later wrote about the voyage and its preparation in his book ''Tinkerbelle'', in which the sailor expressed shock and surprise at the huge crowds and armada of small boats that greeted his arrival in Falmouth. It is estimated that scores of journalists, the Royal Navy, a fleet of 300 boats as well as 50,000 people on shore (along with Falmouth's mayor, Sam Hooper) greeted Manry upon his landing ashore.
After completing his voyage on ''Tinkerbelle'', Manry purchased ''Curlew'', a 1967 Tartan 27 Yawl. He then set out with his wife, son, daughter, German shepherd, and cat on a cruise from Cleveland, Ohio, through the Great Lakes, down the Mississippi river, through the Gulf to the Bahamas, up the east coast of the US and ultimately back to Cleveland.
Manry died February 21, 1971, from a heart attack in Union City, Pennsylvania.
A small park in Willowick, Ohio—the town where he lived before his journey—is named after him. ''Tinkerbelle'' is on display at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio. Provided by Wikipedia