Amazing Solo Sea Voyages

Check out these daring, dangerous but nevertheless amazing sea voyages made by ambitious people who are set to make the sailing record! Note that most sailors included in this list are young people — some of them are as young as 16 years old!

Laura Dekker from the Netherlands was only 16 years old then when she circumnavigated the globe all by herself in 2010. With her 11.5-meter (38 feet) two-masted ketch Guppy, she set out for a 518-day voyage from Gibraltar in August 2010 when she was just 14. In January 2012 she completed her voyage when she finally arrived at the Caribbean. Dekker’s journey made her one of the youngest sailors ever to circumnavigate the globe.

Well, don’t let his surname mislead you. Loss embarked on his solo sea voyage with his 36-foot boat Odyssey, during the fall of 2011. For eight months, he completed the circumnavigation but not without some mishaps. His boat even capsized during his voyage but he survived and proceeded with his journey.

The longest sea expedition ever in history goes to Reid Stowe and his 70-foot schooner Anne. For an incredible 1,152 days at sea, Anne never resupplied or even made a stop. He had begun this journey in 2007 with his girlfriend, who stayed aboard during the first quarter until she began to suffer what she thought was sea-sickness or home-sickness (it turned out that she was actually pregnant). She disembarked at Perth, Western Australia. For the rest of the journey Stowe piloted Anne solo, non-stop and unassisted. He had to wait until Anne landed in New York in 2010 to reunite with his girlfriend and see their toddler son for the first time.

Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old California sailor, also attempted to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world non-stop, in 2010. But her 40-foot boat Wild Eyes was caught in a bad weather while sailing in the Indian Ocean. The storm damaged the boat’s masts, and Sunderland had no choice but to put her record-breaking journey attempt on hold.

16-year-old Australian sailor Jessica Watson became the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the Southern Hemisphere, in 2010. She sailed her boat Ella’s Pink Lady 23,000 miles for 210 days, non-stop and unassisted.

English rower Roz Savage became the first female to row alone across the Atlantic Ocean, in 2005. In 2007 she also became the first woman to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean, and in the Indian Ocean in 2011. Her feats, not surprisingly, land on the Guinness World Records

Zac Sunderland

Abby Sunderland’s brother Zac became the first person to sail around the world solo, in 2009. He began his journey in June 2008 when he was still 16 and completed it in July 2009 when he was 18.

Michael Perham

Only weeks after Zac Sunderland claimed the world record of being the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe solo, he lost it to English sailor Michael Perham. Perham was only 17 when he completed his circumnavigation solo. He had also successfully sailed across the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly, when he was only 14 then.

Jesse Martin

Australian sailor Jesse Martin was also one of the youngest people to sail around the world solo. In 1999 he was only 18 when he completed his circumnavigation solo and unassisted, with his boat Lionheart-Mistral.

David Dicks

Dicks was also 18 years old when he completed his solo voyage around the world aboard his boat Seaflight, in 1996. However, he lost his shot to become the youngest person to sail unassisted when he accepted some mid-ocean help from the British Royal Navy to make some vital repairs on his boat.