Single-handed sailing - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The sport of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

with only one crew

Crew

A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard...

member (i.e., only one person on board the vessel). The term is usually used with reference to ocean

Ocean

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

and long-distance sailing, and particularly competitive sailing

Yacht racing

Yacht racing is the sport of competitive yachting.While sailing groups organize the most active and popular competitive yachting, other boating events are also held world-wide: speed motorboat racing; competitive canoeing, kayaking, and rowing; model yachting; and navigational contests Yacht racing...

Terminology

In sailing, a hand is a member of a ship's crew. "Single-handed" therefore means with a crew of one, i.e., only one person on the vessel. The term "single-handed" has been adopted into more general English, meaning "done without help from others"; however, it has also come to mean literally "with one hand".

In the sailing community, the term "crewed" (or sometimes "fully-crewed") is used to mean sailing with a crew of more than one, in order to distinguish events permitting larger crews from their single-handed equivalents (even though a solo sailor is also correctly referred to as a vessel's crew). Hence, for example, "Bruno Peyron

Bruno Peyron

Bruno Tristan Peyron is a French yachtsman who, along with his crew on the catamaran Orange II, broke the outright round-the-world sailing record in March 2005. He was the first winner of the Jules Verne Trophy in 1994, for completing a round-the-world trip in under 80 days...

... has taken part in almost all the large crewed and single-handed sailing events since the 80's."

The term "double-handed" is used to refer to sailing with two persons on board. There are a number of double-handed offshore races, and some races feature a double-handed category. In addition, many long distance passages and cruises are done by couples, who routinely sail double-handed.

This use of "hand" to mean a member of a ship's crew may derive from the days of sailing ship

Sailing ship

The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...

s, where the crew had to work high in the rigging without the benefit of modern safety harnesses; it was an essential precaution that each sailor should hold on with one hand at all times, while working with the other. This meant that each crew member represented one hand for the ship's work, and gave rise to the saying "one hand for yourself, one for the ship". This saying remains excellent advice for sailors today, particularly single-handers.

Sailing alone

Many dinghy

Dinghy

A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...

and other small-boat sailors sail single-handed over short distances or in protected waters with little difficulty; indeed, the smallest classes of boat (such as Optimist

Optimist (dinghy)

The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children up to the age of 15. Nowadays boats are usually made of fiber reinforced plastic, although wooden boats are still built....

s and El Toro

El Toro (dinghy)

The El Toro is a one-design class of sailing dinghy. The El Toro is quite small—approximately 8 feet long—and very simple to sail.-Design and use:...

s) can realistically only accommodate a single crewmember. The term "single-handed sailing", however, normally refers to voyages which would normally be undertaken with crew, such as sailing over longer distances, over multiple days, and in larger boats; this is a much more challenging activity, particularly for those who do it competitively.

What it is

Single-handed sailing simply means sailing on some voyage with just one person on board. For cruising

Cruising (maritime)

Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...

sailors, this may be prompted by an inability to find willing and compatible crew, by a desire to "prove oneself" by undertaking a major challenge, or simply by the type of personality that favours a solitary life. However, a single-handed voyage may include stops and indeed may be undertaken as a series of short hops, so life for single-handed cruisers can be almost as social as for crews.

Many significant voyages, such as ocean passages, have been made single-handed, and a number of people have circumnavigated the world

Circumnavigation

Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...

single-handed. "Single-handed" does not, in general, imply "non-stop", so a single-handed circumnavigation counts as such even with stops, as in Joshua Slocum

Joshua Slocum

Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Canadian born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he told the story of this in Sailing Alone Around the World...

's great voyage.

The racing scene

Single-handed sailing has become a major competitive sport, and there are a number of prominent single-handed offshore races. The Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race

Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race

The Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, or STAR, is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth to the USA, and is held every four years....

(OSTAR) and the Route du Rhum

Route du Rhum

The Route du Rhum is a transatlantic single-handed yacht race, which takes places every 4 years in November. The course is between Saint Malo, Brittany, France and Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, France...

are trans-Atlantic single-handed races. Round-the-world yacht racing began with the single-handed Sunday Times Golden Globe Race

Sunday Times Golden Globe Race

The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first round-the-world yacht race...

. Two modern round-the-world races descended from this event are the VELUX 5 Oceans Race

VELUX 5 Oceans Race

The VELUX 5 OCEANS Race is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed in stages, managed by Clipper Ventures Plc since 2000. Its current name comes from its main sponsor, VELUX, a Danish company. Originally known as the BOC Challenge, for the title sponsor BOC Gases, the first edition was...

(Around Alone), which is run in several stages with stops in between, and the Vendée Globe

Vendée Globe

The Vendée Globe is a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed non-stop and without assistance. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years....

, a non-stop race around the world and perhaps the ultimate event in single-handed sailing. Many single-handed races make use of Open 50 and Open 60

International Monohull Open Classes Association

The International Monohull Open Class Association is an international association within the sport of sailing which administers the monohull class of sailboats...

boats.

Stringent rules apply to single-handed races and speed records. As with any sailing race, the voyage must be completed under sail, and the boat must be operated and powered by wind and muscle-power alone (no electric or hydraulic winches). An exception is often made allowing electronic auto-pilots. Some races are carried out in stages, where repairs and resupply may be carried out at the intermediate ports of call; in non-stop races and record attempts, no outside assistance is permitted, whether in the form of a tow, repairs, or supplies. However, anchoring to make repairs under one's own resources is generally permitted.

In terms of safety, very stringent entry requirements apply to major races. The crew must meet requirements for both past experience and training, and the vessel and equipment must meet specified standards.

One issue that arises with single-handed round-the-world racing is that of verifying that the competitor has actually sailed around the world. In practice, faking such a voyage, along with all of the detailed logs, workings of celestial navigation

Celestial navigation

Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that has evolved over several thousand years to help sailors cross oceans without having to rely on estimated calculations, or dead reckoning, to know their position...

sights, radio check-ins at various places, and so on, would be virtually impossible; however, in the Golden Globe Race, one competitor did actually attempt this—although the attempt drove him to madness and suicide. Today, racers in major offshore races are required to carry location beacons, such as Inmarsat-C

Inmarsat-C

Inmarsat-C is a two-way, packet data service operated by the telecommunications company Inmarsat. The service is approved for use under the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System , meets the requirements for Ship Security Alert Systems defined by the International Maritime Organization and is...

with GPS, or the Argos System

Argos System

Argos is a satellite-based system which collects, processes and disseminates environmental data from fixed and mobile platforms worldwide. What makes Argos unique is the ability to geographically locate the source of the data anywhere on the Earth utilizing the Doppler effect...

; these beacons report each boat's position continuously to race headquarters. This is primarily for safety, and to permit daily race reports; however, it also allows the organisers to ensure that racers are following the correct course.

Requirements

Complete competence with sailing and seamanship are of course required for single-handing, as is a high degree of self-sufficiency. Physical fitness is of particular importance for single-handing, as all of the tasks which would ordinarily be handled by two or more persons must be accomplished by the lone skipper. This includes sail adjustments and changes, such as wrestling the jib down and off the foredeck in a sudden storm, an arduous task at the best of times.

This is true many times over for competitive sailors; for example, Ellen MacArthur

Ellen MacArthur

Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...

's Kingfisher monohull, in which she completed the 2000 Vendée Globe

Vendée Globe

, has an upwind sail area of 237 square metres (283.4 sq yd), as compared to a conservative recreational round-the-world yacht such as a Westsail 32

Westsail 32

The Westsail 32 was a production fiberglass sailboat built between the years of 1971 and 1980. Approximately 830 were built, about half of them in kit form. The "W32", as they are often referred to, was very heavily built and has taken many people on trouble-free voyages and several...

, which has a sail area of only 59 m² (70.6 sq yd), despite that these two boats have virtually the same weight, at around 9000 kilograms (19,841.6 lb). With all sail handling being by the muscle power of one person, this huge sail area directly translates to physical effort while sailing, and the much greater power-to-weight ratio makes simply handling the boat a major challenge. In addition, while a recreational sailor might let a change in conditions slide for an hour or two, a racer will respond to every wind shift with a sail adjustment or change, resulting in much more frequent exertions.

One of the greatest challenges facing a lone sailor is sleep, since a good watch must be kept at all times while at sea. Most single-handers use the technique of napping for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, using a timer to wake them up for periodic look-arounds; with the relatively slow speed of a sailboat, this allows most hazards to be seen in time. Again the challenge is greater for racers, given their higher speeds and more intense activity, and some racers have carried out considerable research into getting the maximum benefit from short cat-naps. Especially for racing, often routes are chosen that stay away from land, shallow areas and areas with many ships. In the Southern Ocean sailors often do not see another boat for weeks. Recreational sailors usually choose a more tropical route (through the Panama Canal) closer to land and have to watch out better for shipping. They often stop in ports for rest and sightseeing.

Hazards

The greatest nightmare for the single-handed sailor is falling overboard. In fact, this may be the greatest danger for any ocean sailor, given the slim chance of recovering a crewmember lost overboard in the open ocean, particularly if the rest of the crew is asleep at the time (as will usually be the case for small crews). However, the nightmare scenario of floating in mid-ocean while watching one's boat sail away under auto-pilot makes many single-handers very cautious. Staying on the boat (by careful and thorough use of handholds, lifelines, and tethers) is undoubtedly the best approach for any sailor, but some single-handers tow a rope astern, as a last desperate chance if they should fall in.

There is some controversy about the legality of sailing single-handed over long distances. The International Maritime Organization

International Maritime Organization

The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...

navigation rules

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are published by the International Maritime Organization , and set out, inter alia, the "rules of the road" or navigation rules to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea in order to prevent collisions between two or more...

require that "Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision." Single-handed sailors can only keep a sporadic lookout, due to the need to sleep, tend to navigation, etc., raising the possibility of a collision with an unseen vessel.

The pioneers

No-one knows when the first single-handed voyage was made. It is possible that early Polynesia

Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...

n sailors, who were proficient navigators, may have been first to make a significant single-handed offshore voyage. The recorded history of single-handed voyages begins with an American sailor, Josiah Shackford, who is reported to have sailed from France to Surinam, in South America, although this has not been reliably authenticated. Another unauthenticated—and somewhat improbable—voyage is that of Captain Cleveland of Salem, who was said to have sailed nearly around the world single-handed in a 15 feet (5 m) boat around 1800. A more likely account is that of J.M. Crenston, who is reported to have sailed a 40 feet (12 m) boat from New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

, to San Francisco (whether by Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

or the Strait of Magellan

Strait of Magellan

The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...

is unknown).

Single-handed sailing received a great impetus in the middle of the 19th century, when it was popularised by two British sailors, R.T. McMullen and John MacGregor. Although neither man made a major single-handed offshore passage, MacGregor achieved some fame for sailing a 21 feet (6 m) yawl

Yawl

A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...

from London to Paris and back in 1867. His book, The Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy, and McMullen's book, Down Channel, published in 1869, inspired many people to cruise.

The first authenticated single-handed ocean crossing was made in 1876 by a 30-year-old fisherman named Alfred "Centennial" Johnson. Johnson sailed out of Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...

, to cross the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

in an open dory

Dory

The dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is a lightweight and versatile boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. They are easy to build because of their simple lines. For centuries, dories have been used as traditional fishing boats, both in coastal waters and in the...

named Centennial. His voyage, which arose from a dare with his friends over a game of cards, was timed to celebrate the first centennial of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He set off on the 3000 nautical miles (5,556 km) crossing on June 15, 1876; he averaged about 70 miles (113 km) a day, and contacted many vessels along the way, getting positions from their navigators. After surviving a major gale that capsized the boat, he finally made landfall at Abercastle

Abercastle

Abercastle is a village in the Welsh language speaking area of Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. Abercastle has a working harbour which is managed by Abercastle Boat Owners Association...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, on August 12, 1876. Another Gloucesterman, Howard Blackburn

Howard Blackburn

Howard Blackburn was a Gloucester, Massachusetts fisherman, born in Nova Scotia. Despite losing his fingers at sea in 1883, he prospered as a Gloucester businessman...

, who had lost all his fingers in a fishing accident, made single-handed Atlantic crossings in 1899 and 1901. In 1882, Bernard Gilboy sailed a 19 feet (6 m) schooner that he built himself from San Francisco 7000 miles (11,265 km) miles across the Pacific in 162 days until he was picked up exhausted and starving off Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

after a swordfish pierced his hull and he lost the rudder.

William Albert Andrews, of Beverley, Massachusetts, made several significant single-handed voyages, and instigated the first single-handed trans-Atlantic race. Andrews first crossed the Atlantic with his brother in a 19 feet (6 m) dory

Dory

in 1878. He made an aborted attempt at a single-handed crossing in 1888, and then in 1891 he issued a challenge to any single-hander to race him across the ocean for a prize of $5,000. Josiah W. Lawlor, the son of a famous boat-builder, took up the challenge, and the two men built 15 feet (5 m) boats for the race. They set off from Crescent Beach near Boston on June 21, 1891. Andrews, in a highly unseaworthy boat, capsized several times and was finally picked up by a steamer; but Lawlor arrived at Coverack

Coverack

Coverack is a coastal village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated on the east side of the Lizard peninsula approximately nine miles south of Falmouth....

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, on August 5, 1891.

The sport of long-distance single-handed sailing was firmly established with the famous voyage of Joshua Slocum

Joshua Slocum

, who circumnavigated

Circumnavigation

Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...

the world between 1895 and 1898. Despite widespread opinion that such a voyage was impossible (there was no Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

then), Slocum, a retired sea captain, rebuilt a 37 feet (11 m) sloop, Spray, and sailed her around the world—the first single-handed circumnavigation of the world. His book Sailing Alone Around the World is still considered a classic adventure, and it inspired many others to take to the seas.

In 1942, while the world was in the throes of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

sailor Vito Dumas

Vito Dumas

Vito Dumas was an Argentine single-handed sailor.In 1942, while the world was in the depths of World War II, he set out on a single-handed circumnavigation of the Southern Ocean. He left Buenos Aires in June, sailing Lehg II, a 31-foot ketch named for the initials of his mistress...

set out on a single-handed circumnavigation of the Southern Ocean

Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...

. He left Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

in June, sailing Lehg II, a 31 feet (9 m) ketch named for the initials of his mistress. He had only the most basic and makeshift gear; he had no radio, for fear of being shot as a spy, and was forced to stuff his clothes with newspaper to keep warm. His voyage of 20000 miles (32,186.8 km) was not a true circumnavigation

Circumnavigation

Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...

, as it was contained within the southern hemisphere; however, he made the first single-handed passage of the three great capes

Great capes

In sailing, the great capes are the three major capes of the Southern Ocean — the Cape of Good Hope , Cape Leeuwin, and Cape Horn. South East Cape of Tasmania and South West Cape at the southern tip of Stewart Island/Rakiura are also sometimes included as major landmarks of a circumnavigation...

, and indeed the first successful single-handed passage of Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

. With only three landfalls, Vito Dumas described the legs of his trip as the longest that had been made by a single-hander, and in the most ferocious oceans on the Earth; but most of all, it was a powerful retort to a world which had chosen to divide itself by war.

The beginnings of modern racing

Organised single-handed yacht racing

Yacht racing

was pioneered by Britons "Blondie" Hasler

Herbert Hasler

Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert George "Blondie" Hasler, DSO, OBE was a distinguished Royal Marines officer in World War II, responsible for many of the concepts which ultimately led to the post-war formation of the Special Boat Service...

and Francis Chichester

Francis Chichester

Sir Francis Charles Chichester KBE , aviator and sailor, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route, and the fastest circumnavigator, in nine months and one day overall.-Early life:Chichester was born in Barnstaple,...

, who conceived the idea of a single-handed race across the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. This was a revolutionary concept at the time, as the idea was thought to be extremely impractical, particularly in the adverse conditions of their proposed route—a westward crossing of the north Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. Nevertheless, their original half-crown bet on first place developed into the first single-handed transatlantic yacht race, the OSTAR

Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race

, which was held in 1960. The race was a success, and was won in 40 days by Chichester, then aged 58, in Gipsy Moth III; Hasler finished second, in 48 days, sailing the junk

Junk (ship)

A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...

-rigged Jester. Hasler's wind-vane self-steering gear revolutionised short-handed sailing, and his other major innovation—using a junk rig for safer and more manageable shorthanded sailing—influenced many subsequent sailors. Chichester placed second in the second running of the race four years later. The winner on that occasion, Eric Tabarly

Éric Tabarly

Éric Tabarly was a notable French yachtsman.A former officer in the French navy who is often considered the father of French yachting....

, sailed in the first ever boat specifically designed for single-handed ocean racing, the 44 feet (13 m) ketch Pen Duick II.

Not content with his achievements, Chichester set his sights on the next logical goal—a racing-style circumnavigation of the world. In 1966 he set off in Gipsy Moth IV
Gipsy Moth IV
Gipsy Moth IV is a yawl that Sir Francis Chichester commissioned specifically to sail single-handed around the globe, racing against the times set by the clipper ships of the 19th century.-Background and design:...

, a yacht custom-built for a speed attempt, in order to set the fastest possible time for a round-the-world trip—in effect, the first speed record for a single-handed circumnavigation. He followed the clipper route

Clipper route

In sailing, the clipper route was the traditional route sailed by clipper ships between Europe and the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. The route ran from west to east through the Southern Ocean, in order to make use of the strong westerly winds of the Roaring Forties...

from Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, United Kingdom, to Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia, where he stopped over for 48 days, then continued south of Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

back to Plymouth. In the process he became the first single-handed sailor to circumnavigate west-to-east, by the clipper route

Clipper route

, with just one stop (of 48 days) in 274 days overall, with a sailing time of 226 days, twice as fast as the previous record for a small vessel. At the age of 65, Chichester had once again revolutionised single-handed sailing.
The first woman to sail from Los Angeles to Hawaii was Sharon Sites Adams

Sharon Sites Adams

Sharon Sites Adams was the first woman to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean, which she did in 1969, from Yokohama to San Diego in her boat named "Sea Sharp II". For this feat she was named the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in 1969....

, in 1965 with a 25 foot Danish folkboat. She added to this feat in 1969 by sailing a Sea Sharp II fiberglass Mariner 31 from Yokosuka, Japan to San Diego, CA in 1969. These feats have been documented and described in her book "Pacific Lady."
The first single-handed round-the-world yacht race—and actually the first round-the-world yacht race in any format—was the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race

Sunday Times Golden Globe Race

The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first round-the-world yacht race...

, starting between June 1 and October 31 (the skippers set off at different times) in 1968. Of the nine boats which started:

four retired before leaving the Atlantic
Chay Blyth
Chay Blyth
Sir Charles Blyth, CBE, BEM , known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world , on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.- Early life:...

, who had never sailed a boat before, made it to East London in South Africa, past Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas is a rocky headland in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Nigel Tetley
Nigel Tetley
Nigel Tetley was the first person to circumnavigate the world solo in a trimaran.- The race :A native of South Africa, and a Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy, he entered the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, which was the first non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race...

's boat sank after crossing his outbound track, while in the clear lead for the speed record
Donald Crowhurst
Donald Crowhurst
Donald Crowhurst was a British businessman and amateur sailor who died while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race. Crowhurst had entered the race in hopes of winning a cash prize from The Sunday Times to aid his failing business...

attempted to fake a circumnavigation, went insane, and committed suicide
Bernard Moitessier
Bernard Moitessier
Bernard Moitessier was a renowned French yachtsman and author of books about his voyages and sailing....

completed a circumnavigation, rejected the race's (and society's) inherent materialism, and despite being the fastest racer (on elapsed time) and hot favourite to win, decided to keep sailing, and completed another half-circumnavigation before finishing in Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
Robin Knox-Johnston
Robin Knox-Johnston
Sir William Robert Patrick "Robin" Knox-Johnston, CBE, RD and bar is an English sailor. He was the first man to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe and was the second winner of the Jules Verne Trophy . For this he was awarded with Blake the ISAF Yachtsman of the Year award...

was the only person to complete the race, becoming (in 1969) the first person to sail single-handed, unassisted, and non-stop around the world.

The modern era

Even after the main "firsts" had been achieved—first solo circumnavigation, first non-stop—other sailors set out to make their mark on history. In 1965, at the age of just 16, Robin Lee Graham

Robin Lee Graham

Robin Lee Graham is an American sailor. He set out to sail around the world alone as a teenager in the summer of 1965. National Geographic Magazine carried the story, and he co-wrote a book, title Dove, detailing his journey....

set out from southern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

to sail around the world in his 24 feet (7 m) sailboat Dove, and in 1970 he successfully completed the youngest (at age 16–21) solo circumnavigation. Following in Chichester's wake, Alec Rose

Alec Rose

Sir Alec Rose was a nursery owner and fruit merchant in England who had a passion for amateur single-handed sailing, for which he was ultimately knighted....

, a 58-year-old British grocer, set off in 1967 to sail solo around the world. He completed his voyage on July 4, 1968, after two stops, and was knighted the following day. He subsequently wrote a book, My Lively Lady, about his voyage. Despite his failure in the Golden Globe, Chay Blyth

Chay Blyth

Sir Charles Blyth, CBE, BEM , known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world , on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.- Early life:...

had decided that endurance sailing was for him, and in 1970–1971 he made the first westabout single-handed non-stop circumnavigation via the great capes

Great capes

, i.e., against the prevailing winds of the roaring forties

Roaring Forties

The Roaring Forties is the name given to strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40 and 49 degrees. Air displaced from the Equator towards the South Pole, which travels close to the surface between the latitudes of 30 and 60 degrees south, combines...

.

Single-handed racing continued to develop with the creation in 1977 of the Mini-Transat

Mini Transat 6.50

Mini Transat 6.50 also known as Transat 650 is a solo transatlantic yacht race that starts in France and ends in Brasil covering over 4000 miles with a stop in the Madeira or the Canary Islands. The yachts are very small with respect to the race, and are sanctioned by the organization...

, a single-handed transatlantic race for boats smaller than 6.5 metres (21.3 ft). The first edition started from Penzance

Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...

, UK; today it runs from La Rochelle

La Rochelle

La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, to Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

The major women's firsts were achieved in just over ten years. Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

's Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz

Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz

Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz was the first woman to sail single-handed around the world, repeating the accomplishment of Joshua Slocum...

set off to sail around the world by the trade-wind route in 1976 and on her return to the Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

in 1978 became the first woman to perform a single-handed circumnavigation (with stops). Less than two months later, Naomi James

Naomi James

Dame Naomi Christine James DBE, was the first woman to sail single-handed around the world via Cape Horn...

completed the first single-handed circumnavigation (with stops) by a woman via Cape Horn, in just 272 days, and in 1988, Kay Cottee

Kay Cottee

Kay Cottee, AO was the first female sailor to perform a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the world. She performed this feat in 1988 in her yacht Blackmore's First Lady, taking 189 days.-Early life:...

became the first woman to perform a solo non-stop circumnavigation in her 11 metres (36 ft) sloop First Lady, taking 189 days. It was not until 2006, however, that a woman—Dee Caffari

Dee Caffari

Denise "Dee" Caffari MBE is a British sailor, and in 2006 became the first woman to sail single-handedly and non-stop around the world "the wrong way"; westward against the prevailing winds and currents...

—completed a non-stop westabout circumnavigation. The first woman to win overall a single-handed ocean race was Florence Arthaud, who won the Route du Rhum

Route du Rhum

(Saint-Malo, France, to Pointe-à-Pitre, French Caribbean) in 1990.

In 1982, the first single-handed round-the-world race since the Golden Globe, the BOC Challenge

VELUX 5 Oceans Race

, was inaugurated. This event is raced in stages, with between two and four intermediate stops, going eastabout by way of the great capes

Great capes

, and is run every four years. The first edition was won by French yachtsman Philippe Jeantot

Philippe Jeantot

Philippe Jeantot is a French former deep sea diver, who achieved recognition as a sailor for long-distance, single-handed racing and record-setting...

, who won all four legs of the race with an overall elapsed time of just over 159 days. With changes in sponsorship the race later became known as the Around Alone, and is now the VELUX 5 Oceans Race.

With the success of the BOC, the stage was set for a new non-stop race, and 1989–1990 saw the first running of the Vendée Globe

Vendée Globe

, a single-handed, non-stop, round-the-world yacht race, by way of the great capes

Great capes

. Founded by former BOC Challenge winner Philippe Jeantot, this is essentially the successor to the Golden Globe race (though much better organised). The race, which takes place every four years, is regarded by yachtsmen and women as the ultimate event in single-handed sailing. The inaugural edition was won by Titouan Lamazou of France, in Ecureuil d'Aquitaine II, with a time of 109 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes.

Single-handed records

The theoretical distance for each course is shown, and the average speed based on this theoretical distance is shown for each record for comparison purposes. Note, however, that the actual distance sailed will be more than the theoretical distance, particularly on upwind and round-the-world courses; the actual average speed will therefore also be higher than that shown.

Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Round the world eastabout Around the world sailing record The first around the world sailing record was, logically, set by the first person who circumnavigated the world: Juan Sebastián Elcano and the remaining members of Ferdinand Magellan's crew who completed their journey in 1522. The first solo record was set by Joshua Slocum in the Spray .Most races... (21,760 miles)
Overall	57 d Day A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun... 13 h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... 34 m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...	Jan 2008	Francis Joyon Francis Joyon Francis Joyon is a professional sail boat racer and yachtsman, and currently holds the record for the fastest single-handed sailing circumnavigation....	IDEC 2 Trimaran IDEC Trimaran IDEC or Idec 2 is a maxi-trimaran skippered by Francis Joyon and sponsored par groupe IDEC.The main goal of Francis Joyon was to regain the single-handed round-the-world record from Ellen MacArthur...	15.75	Joyon set a new world record for a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation, covering 26400 nautical miles (48,893 km), including a short-lived record 614m in 24 hours (25.9 knots).
Monohull	84 d 3 h 9 m	Feb 2009	Michel Desjoyeaux Michel Desjoyeaux Michel Desjoyeaux Michel Desjoyeaux Michel Desjoyeaux (born 16 July 1965, in Concarneau, is a French sailor, known for competing successfully in several long-distance single-handed races...	Foncia	10.8	Desjoyeaux won the 2008-2009 edition of the Vendée Globe and took the world record for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation.
Monohull woman	94 d 4 h 25 m	Feb 2001	Ellen MacArthur Ellen MacArthur Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...	Kingfisher	9.6	MacArthur finished second in the 2000-2001 edition of the Vendée Globe as the youngest ever entrant, and set the world record for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation by a woman.
Round the world westabout Around the world sailing record The first around the world sailing record was, logically, set by the first person who circumnavigated the world: Juan Sebastián Elcano and the remaining members of Ferdinand Magellan's crew who completed their journey in 1522. The first solo record was set by Joshua Slocum in the Spray .Most races... (21,760 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Overall, Monohull	122 d 14 h 4 m	March 2004	Jean Luc Van Den Heede Jean Luc Van Den Heede Jean Luc Van Den Heede is a French sailor. He is best known for his achievements in single-handed sailing and set the current world-record for the westabout circumnavigation .He started sailing at the age of 17...	Adrien	7.4	Van den Heede sailed the monohull Adrien around the world westabout, against the winds and currents, to set the record for a single-handed westabout circumnavigation.
Transpacific west to east (4,525 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Multihull	20 d 9 h 53 m	Aug 1996	Steve Fossett Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...	Lakota	9.2	Fossett sailed the little-contested downwind course from Yokohoma to San Francisco to set a multihull record.
Cadiz - San Salvador Transatlantic sailing record Since the five-weeks voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, crossing the Atlantic, fast and safely, between Europe and America has always been an important issue. Today, the route has become a classic one among skippers... (3,884 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Multihull	9 d 20 h 35 m	November 2008	Francis Joyon Francis Joyon Francis Joyon is a professional sail boat racer and yachtsman, and currently holds the record for the fastest single-handed sailing circumnavigation....	Trimaran IDEC Trimaran IDEC Trimaran IDEC or Idec 2 is a maxi-trimaran skippered by Francis Joyon and sponsored par groupe IDEC.The main goal of Francis Joyon was to regain the single-handed round-the-world record from Ellen MacArthur...	18.94
Transatlantic, west to east (2,925 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Overall	5 d 19 h 30 m	July 2008	Thomas Coville	Sodebo	20.97	Thomas Coville beat the previous holder Francis Joyon by more than 8 hours to set a new west-to-east multihull record from Ambrose Light to Lizard Point.
Multihull woman	7 d 3 h 50 m	June 2004	Ellen MacArthur Ellen MacArthur Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...	B&Q/Castorama	17.0	MacArthur sailed her trimaran B&Q/Castorama from Ambrose Light to Lizard Point to set a new world record for a transatlantic crossing by women, beating the previous crewed record as well as the singlehanded version.
Transatlantic, east to west (2,800 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Overall	9 d 23 h 55 m	June 2000	Francis Joyon Francis Joyon Francis Joyon is a professional sail boat racer and yachtsman, and currently holds the record for the fastest single-handed sailing circumnavigation....	Eure et Loir	11.7	Joyon's voyage in his trimaran from Plymouth Plymouth Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound... to Newport Newport Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent... set the overall record for an east-to-west (upwind) transatlantic passage.
Monohull, woman any vessel	14 d 23 h 11 m	June 2000	Ellen MacArthur Ellen MacArthur Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...	Kingfisher	7.8	MacArthur sailed the same route to take the record for a single-handed monohull east-to-west passage, and also the record for a woman in any vessel.
Round Britain and Ireland, all islands (1,787 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Monohull	7 d 8 h 47 m	May 2005	Jean Luc Van Den Heede Jean Luc Van Den Heede Jean Luc Van Den Heede is a French sailor. He is best known for his achievements in single-handed sailing and set the current world-record for the westabout circumnavigation .He started sailing at the age of 17...	Adrien	10.1
Miami - New York (947 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Multihull	3 d 5 h 0 m	July 2005	Thomas Coville	Sodeb'O	12.3
Newport - Bermuda (635 miles)
Type	Time	Date	Sailor	Boat	Speed	Comments	Ref
Multihull	1 d 16 h 52 m	June 1999	Steve Fossett Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...	Lakota	15.5

Questionable Legality

The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS)

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea

is the international agreement between 168 UN member nations forming the 'rules-of-the-road' to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea. Any citizen of a signing nation is bound by these rules when in international waters. As they pertain to single-handed sailing:

Rule #1(a) -- These Rules shall apply to all vessels upon the high seas and in all waters connected therewith navigable by seagoing vessels.

Rule #5 -- Every vessel must at all times keep a proper look-out by sight, hearing, and all available means in order to judge if risk of collision exists.

Since a single-handed, long-distance sailor will need to sleep at some point, the activity is in violation of international law. Currently there is no evidence of authorities pro-actively enforcing the look-out rule on non-commercial craft. However, in the event of an incident at sea, if the master of a vessel is found to have violated one or more COLREGS, they may be found completely liable for the costs of rescue efforts, property damages or loss, loss of income, salvage costs, environmental cleanup costs, and so on. In the event of loss of life, criminal gross negligence charges are possible.

Other

With the spate of teenage girls attempting to break the age record, their parents have come under criticism and legal challenges for allowing their offspring to engage in such potentially dangerous activity. This was highlighted by the expensive rescue of Abby Sunderland

Abby Sunderland

Abigail Jillian "Abby" Sunderland is an American sailor who, in 2010, attempted to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.-Early life:...

in 2010, over $200,000, paid for by the Australian government. Before 2009, only boys were trying to break the age record, which caused much less objections.

Terminology

Sailing alone

What it is

The racing scene

Requirements

Hazards

The pioneers

The beginnings of modern racing

The modern era

Single-handed records

Questionable Legality

Other

Further reading