Ten books by solo women sailors
WWSA's Shelley Wright shares ten of her favourite books by women solo sailors
I’m captivated by stories of women crossing oceans, especially those who undertook voyages decades before all the wonderful technology we have at our fingertips today. How many of us would head off without that technology I wonder? Even with all our modern gadgets, crossing an ocean solo is a daunting thought. The following are some of the books on my bookshelf, written by trail blazing, solo sailing women from the 1970s and onwards...
Nicolette Milnes-Walker (1973) When I Put Out To Sea
There are some treasured paperbacks in my collection, their pages yellowed by age, When I Put Out to Sea is one of them. Nicolette Milnes-Walker sailed non-stop single-handed across the Atlantic at the age of 28. She was the first woman to do so, setting sail on 12 June 1971 from the UK and arriving in Newport, USA, forty-five days later. Nicolette made her crossing in a 30-foot yacht Aziz, a ‘Pioneer’ designed by Van Der Stadt and constructed in Dorset in 1963.
Before deciding to embark on this journey, Nicolette had never sailed a yacht single-handed; her longest solo passage was eight miles in a dinghy! When I Put Out to Sea describes the journey from its inception at the International Boat Show in London 1971 (six months before her voyage), the preparations, inevitable foul weather and loneliness once under way, the sense of pride and achievement on arrival in the US, and her journey back in England by ship.
Claire Francis (1977) Come Hell or High Water
In June, 1976, Clare Francis set out from Plymouth in her 38-foot Ohlson Robertson’s Golly, in one of the most gruelling singlehanded boat races, the Observer Royal Western Transatlantic Race (OSTAR). Twenty-nine days later she reached Newport, Rhode Island, in 13th place overall, the first woman to finish the race, and beating the current women’s record by three days. Of 125 boats that started the race, only 73 officially finished.
Naomi James (1979) At One with the Sea
With only two years of sailing experience, New Zealander Naomi James left Dartmouth in September 1977 aboard the 53-foot yacht Express Crusader, alone except for a small kitten called Boris. After 30,000 miles and 272 days Naomi became the first woman to sail single-handed, non-stop, around the globe via Cape Horn. Naomi’s sequel At Sea on Land (1981) shares the shelf with At One with the Sea.
Ann Gash (1980) A Star to Steer Her By
This book is out of print, and I paid far more than I care to admit for my copy! I confess I didn’t know of Australian Ann Gash and her voyage until a few years ago when SisterShip Magazine founder and WWSA member Ruth Boydell mentioned having met her in a marina in South Africa in the 1970s. That then set me on a mission to find a copy of Ann’s book.
Ann took up sailing in her 40s after buying a little boat for her children to sail on Pittwater. She taught herself celestial navigation and took classes at night school on coastal navigation. Ann then set sail around the world in 1975 in a 26-foot wooden Folkboat called Ilimo, leaving without telling her children where she was going! Ann was not attempting to break any records; she simply went because she wanted to.
Kay Cottee (1989) First Lady
On 29 November 1987, Kay Cottee set off from Sydney Harbour aboard her Cavalier 37 Blackmore’s First Lady. 189 days later, in June 1988, she sailed back into Sydney, the first woman to have sailed solo, nonstop, and unassisted around the world! Kay is of course a household name here in Australia (and hopefully around the world!) and I must admit experiencing a major 'fangirl' moment when I met her in person at the WWSA Gathering on the Bay in Port Stephens. Kay’s follow up story, All at Sea on Land (1998), sits alongside First Lady on my bookshelf.
Maureen Jenkins (2000) Lone Voyager
After reluctantly agreeing on a sailing lesson in a dinghy while on holiday in Cornwell in 1989, 44-year-old Maureen Jenkins was enthralled with sailing and determined to buy a small yacht of her own. The end of an unhappy marriage saw Maureen juggling divorce with the build of her dream boat, a replica of Joshua Slocum’s Spray. Maureen completed the build and sailed Lucia solo across the Atlantic, the only competitor in a rally to commemorate Joshua Slocum’s voyage in 1895 to compete the crossing.
Tania Aebi (1990) Maiden Voyage
Tania Aebi’s father issued her an ultimatum – go to college or sail around the world alone. In 1985, at the age of 18, she set sail from the docks of South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan aboard her Contessa 26, Varuna, with little knowledge and only a cat for company. Tania crossed the Caribbean, the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the North Atlantic. Her journey took her to 23 countries and covered 27,000 miles, during which time she faced loneliness, homesickness, foul weather, and a collision with a tanker. Tania returned to New York City in November 1987, aged 21.
Laura Dekker (2013) One Girl One Dream
With a foreword by Tania Aebi.
Sailing was in Laura Dekker’s DNA. Born to a sailing family who were in New Zealand at the time of her birth, later sailing back to the Netherlands, Laura remained with her father after her parents separated. Her first boat was optimist dinghy bought for her 6th birthday. When she was 13, Laura sailed a Hurley 700 single-handed to England.
At the age of 14 she was determined to sail around the globe. Laura Dekker’s plans were not without controversy, with numerous court cases and even the Dutch Prime Minister weighing in. At one stage she lied about her age and flew to the Caribbean to attempt to buy a boat suitable for a circumnavigation. Eventually, with financial help from family, she bought a cheap and neglected 33-year-old Jeanneau Gin Fizz she renamed Guppy, and together they made history. Laura did set out at the age of 14, completing her journey aged 16.
Jessica Watson (2010) True Spirit
From the age of 12 Jessica Watson was determined she wanted to sail around the world. Inspired after reading Jessie Martin’s book Lionheart, Jessica’s own voyage nearly didn’t happen as she collided with a bulk carrier on a test sail from Brisbane to Sydney prior to her circumnavigation. The incident sparked much debate over whether Jessica was too young and inexperienced to attempt such a journey. Her boat, a S&S 34 named Ella’s Pink Lady, was repaired and Jessica set off from Sydney Harbour on 18th October 2009 at the age of 16, completing her circumnavigation on 15th May 2010.
Lisa Blair (2020) Facing Fear
And of course, no bookshelf would be complete without Lisa Blair’s new book Facing Fear, the story of her first record breaking circumnavigation of Antarctica in 2017 and dismasting 900 nautical miles south of Cape Town. A remarkable story from a remarkable woman. With a second circumnavigation of Antarctica (having smashed the speed record by ten days!), circumnavigations of Australia and New Zealand, and a speed record from Sydney to Auckland, now under her belt, hopefully another book is in the pipeline!
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