Famous and record breaking circumnavigations of the globe under sail.

So I get a little confused about who did what and in what era when it comes to sailing around the world. There are some ‘stand out’ and well celebrated names and achievements and some lesser know.  I find myself cross-contaminating bits of information about them from time to time and so I figured with a bit of googling and some fact checking I could get it straight. So here it is, the list of circumnavigators, their record and the timescales.

The first documented circumnavigation by sail is credited to the Magellan-Elcano expedition, led by the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan and completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano after Magellan's death. The expedition, which began in 1519, successfully sailed around the world, returning to Spain in 1522.

 Ferdinand Magellan - Born 1480

 Joshua Slocum was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian-born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he wrote a book about his journey, Sailing Alone Around the World, which became an international best-seller. He disappeared in November 1909 while aboard his boat, the Spray.

Joshua Slocum - Born 1844

Sir Francis Chichester was the first person to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe by the clipper route, completing the journey in 226 days (274 days including a stop in Sydney). He sailed his yawl Gipsy Moth IV from Plymouth in the UK in 1966 and returned there in 1967, becoming the first to achieve a true circumnavigation solo from West to East via the great Capes

Sir Francis Chichester Born 1901

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Sir Robin was the first person to sail single handed and non-stop around the world between 14 June 1968 and 22 April 1969. More than 40 years have gone by since Sir Robin Knox-Johnston made history by becoming the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the globe in 1968-69. He yacht was called Suhaili (pronounced Sue Hailey)

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston - Born 1939

 Sir Chay Blyth is known to many as the first person to sail non-stop, “the wrong way” round the world in 1970.  This however is only one of his many achievements.  Since 1966 when he and John Ridgway rowed across the Atlantic, Chay has been pushing the boundaries again and again in sailing, and in business.  He has been awarded the BEM and CBE, and is an inspiration to many.

Sir Chay Blyth - Born  1940

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.[1] In February 2009, Caffari completed the Vendée Globe race and set a new record to become the first woman to sail solo, non-stop, around the world in both directions.

Dee Caffari - Born 1973

Jessica Watson is an Australian sailor who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal after attempting a solo circumnavigation[1] at the age of 16. Although she circled the planet, she did it in a narrow range of latitudes that resulted in her voyage falling short of the distance criterion of 21,600 nautical miles (40,000 km) for a circumnavigation – the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth at the equator – by nearly 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) Netflix produced a film, True Spirit (2023), about Watson's voyage.

Jessica Watson - Born 1993

 Laura Dekker, a Dutch sailor, made history in 2012 when she broke Jessica Watson's record and became the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Dekker successfully completed the solo circumnavigation in a 12.4-metre (40 ft) yacht Guppy, in a time of 518 daysat the age of 16

 Laura Dekker - Born 1995

The current record for the fastest crewed circumnavigation by yacht is held by the trimaran IDEC 3, skippered by Francis Joyon, who completed the journey in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes, and 30 seconds in 2017.

Francis Joyon - Born 1956

François Gabart is the fastest solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe, in a time of 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds. He completed the journey non-stop, confined to his trimaran sailing yacht starting on 4 November 2017. Gabart broke the record set by his countryman Thomas Coville in 2016.

François Gabart - Born 1983

 The fastest mono hull solo sailor to complete the Vendée Globe, a non-stop, unassisted round-the-world race, is Charlie Dalin, who won the 2024 edition in a record-breaking time of 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, and 49 seconds. This time beat the previous record set by Armel Le Cléac'h by over nine days

Charlie Dalin - Born 1984

This is all obviously only true at the time of posting and subject to change !!