Half-Safe

Background

Ben Carlin was born in Northam, Western Australia, in 1912. He trained as a mining engineer and served as an officer with the Indian Army's engineers in World War II ^[4]. According to 4X4 Australia, he first saw a Ford GPA amphibious jeep in India in March 1946 ^[3]. With his American wife, Elinore, a former Red Cross nurse, he decided to try crossing the Atlantic in one ^[2][4].

Carlin bought a 1942 GPA at a U.S. government surplus auction for US$901. The Atavist dates the sale to January 30, 1947, at Aberdeen, Maryland, while Wikipedia places it in Washington, D.C. ^[2][4]. He added a boat-shaped bow, a closed cabin with a bunk, a radio and much larger fuel tanks, which lengthened the vehicle by about 3 ft (0.9 m) to about 18 ft (5.5 m) ^[3][4]. He named it Half-Safe after the slogan of a deodorant advertisement ^[4]. Half-Safe was based on the Ford GPA, a wartime design that had performed poorly in rough water ^[5].

Crossing the Atlantic

Several starts from New York in 1948 failed. On the last of them a propeller bearing seized and an oil tanker picked up the couple a few hundred miles offshore ^[2][4]. A 1949 attempt from Halifax, Nova Scotia, ended when the towed fuel tanks broke away ^[3][4]. On July 19, 1950, the Carlins left Halifax again with about 730 US gallons (2,760 L) of fuel and reached Flores in the Azores after 32 days at sea ^[3][4].

From the Azores they went on to Madeira, riding out a hurricane on the way, then to the Canary Islands and the African coast at Cape Juby in February 1951 ^[3][4]. They crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into Europe in April 1951 and later toured Europe and Britain to raise money ^[3][4]. Guinness dates the final Atlantic leg, to the English Channel, to August 24, 1951 ^[1]. Carlin's book about the crossing, Half-Safe: Across the Atlantic by Jeep, was published in 1955 ^[4].

Around the world

In 1955 the Carlins crossed the English Channel and drove through Europe, the Middle East and Pakistan to Calcutta ^[3][4]. Half-Safe was then shipped to Australia for a fundraising tour in late 1955, and Elinore left the journey there ^[3][4]. Carlin returned to Calcutta and in 1956, with Australian Barry Hanley, continued through Burma, Thailand and Vietnam to Hong Kong and Taiwan, reaching Japan in July 1956 ^[3][4].

In May 1957 Carlin left Tokyo with American journalist Boyé Lafayette De Mente. They worked north through Japan, crossed the North Pacific by way of the Aleutian Islands and reached Alaska in late summer 1957 ^[1][3][4]. De Mente flew home from Anchorage, and Carlin drove on alone through Canada and the United States ^[3][4]. He reached Montreal, his official starting point, in May 1958 ^[1][2].

Record and legacy

Guinness World Records lists the trip as the first and only circumnavigation by an amphibious vehicle, covering 62,765 km (39,000 mi) over land and 15,450 km (9,600 mi) by sea and river ^[1]. Wikipedia gives about 62,744 km by land and 17,780 km by sea, through 38 countries ^[4]. Counting from the first attempts in 1948, the effort lasted about ten years ^[4].

Carlin died in Perth in 1981 ^[2][4]. Half-Safe had been left in a barn in Ohio, and in 1984 Guildford Grammar School, his old school, brought it to Perth, where it is on permanent display ^[2]. Wikipedia reports that Carlin left his share of the vehicle to the school, which bought the other share ^[4]. The school published his account of the later journey, The Other Half of Half-Safe, in 1989 ^[4].

Related entries

• Ford GPA "Seep"Military amphibians · 1942 to 1943
• Amphibious vehicle records and journeysRecords, people and culture · 1950 to present
• Top Gear amphibious car challengesRecords, people and culture · 2006 to 2007