Coyote Lost at Sea - The Michael Plant Story

Julia Plant

Sponsored by the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society

Tuesday December 23, 2014, 7 pm
Excelsior Brewing Company, 421 Third St., Excelsior, Mn 55331
Free and open to the public; beer available for purchase

Deephaven native Mike Plant was one of the most exciting and daring round-the-world solo sailors of his time. In 1992, while preparing to compete in his fourth single-handed circumnavigation aboard his boat Coyote, Plant departed New York for the starting line of the Vendée Globe race in France. But he never arrived, and a turtled Coyote was discovered 32 days later.

Plant’s sister Julia admired him but eventually withdrew from his life. Years after his death, she told his complicated story in a 2013 book. He spent many of his teen years and twenties as a miscreant, but grew up to be a sailing legend. Her account gives a vivid, raw portrait of him, and her insight into his personality and his fearlessness helps us understand why he took such a gamble with a boat like Coyote. She paints a well-defined picture of Mike’s last days, a mystery that has intrigued the sailing world for more than two decades.

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