Exploring -history of sailing solo around the world

Today there are solo races around the globe. Joshua Slocum,an American, between 1895-8 was the first to sail solo around the world - circumnavigation.

This is a brief history of how man ( men and women) have speed up the circumnavigation over the last 200 years

Joshua Slocum(1844-1909) spent a year !891-2) rebuilding his gaff rigged sloop oyster boat Spray. which was capable of self-steering. His book Sailing Alone (1899) won him widespread fame.

Sir Francis Chichester (1901-1972) a British businessman, pioneer aviator and solo sailer. In his* Gypsy Moth 1V* he was the first person to sail singlehanded around the world by the clipper route and the fastest circumnavigator in 9 months and one day in 1966-7. In 1958 he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer!

Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnson (born 1939) better known as Robin Knox-Johnson, in 1969 became the first person to complete a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. His entered his small Suhaili * in the* Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. There were 9 in the race the others dropped out. The race had started on 14th June 1968 and finished on 22nd of April 1969.

Francis Joyon (born 1956) is a French professional sailboat racer and yachtsman.
In February 2004 he became the new record holder setting a time of 72 days 22 hrs 54mins 22 secs. on IDEC formerly known as Sport Elec a boat not designed for single -handed sailing.

Dame Ellen MacArthur (born 1976), an English sailor, in 2005 broke the world record. In her trimaran B&Q/Castorama in a time of 71days, 14hrs 18mins and 33 secs.

Francis Joyon on 23 November 2007 set off in his IDEC2. He achieved a time of 57days 13 hrs 34 mins & 6secs breaking the old record by nearly 2 weeks. he held the record from 2008-2016 ( He holds many records -see list of Achievements)

Clarisse Cremer (born 1989) a French professional sailor in the 2020-21 editon of the Vendee Globe set a world record, for a woman, of 87days 2hrs & 24 mins for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation.
(see list for other results)

Sources
Encyclopedia of Great Explorers
Wikipedia