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Female Sailing Records
| Records | Yacht | Flag | Skipper/Sailor | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Woman to sail around the world (with stops) | Boudeuse and Étoile | French | Jeanne Baret | Disguised as a man on Louis-Antoine de Bougainville's expedition from 1766 to 1769 |
| First Woman to sail single-handed across the Atlantic | Felicity Ann | British | Ann Davison | 1952 (Record) |
| First All-Female Crew to race around Britain and Ireland | Gulliver G | British | Claire Francis and Eve Bonham | 1974 (Two Handed) |
| First Woman to sail single-handed around the world (via Panama Canal) with one stop | Mazurek | Polish | Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz | 1976/78 (Record) |
| First Woman to sail single-handed around the world (via Cape Horn) with one stop | Express Crusader | British | Dame Naomi James | 1977/78 (Record) |
| First Woman to sail/race single handed around Cape Horn | Express Crusader | British | Dame Naomi James | 1978 (Record) |
| First Woman to Skipper a WRTWR Yacht | ADC Accutrac | British | Clare Francis | 1977/78 Whitbread Round the World Race |
| First Woman to sail single-handed (via Cape Horn) non-stop around the world | First Lady | Australian | Kay Cottee | 1988 (Record) |
| First Woman to race around the world on a Maxi | Atlantic Privateer | USA | Tracy Edwards MBE | 1985/86 Whitbread Round the World Race |
| First All-Female Crew to sail/race around the world | Maiden | British | Tracy Edwards MBE | 1989/90 Whitbread Round the World Race - Maiden defied her critics and won two legs of the race, finishing 2nd overall - the best result for a British boat for 12 years. |
| First Woman to win the Route De Rhum | Pierre 1 | French | Florence Arthaud | Route de Rhum 1990 |
| First Woman to race around the world single-handed non-stop | PRB | French | Isabelle Autissier | 1996/97 Vendee Globe |
| First All-Female Crew to break the Channel Record | Royal SunAlliance | British | Tracy Edwards MBE | Cowes to Dinard 1998 – 6 hours, 49 minutes, and 19 seconds. At an average speed of 22.7 knots this was the fastest record in the world (male or female) for a number of years. |
| First All-Female Crew to attempt the Jules Verne | Royal SunAlliance | British | Tracy Edwards MBE | Non-stop round the world record 1998. When 2/3 of the way round the world, Royal SunAlliance was less than one day behind the record at the time she lost her mast in the Southern Ocean just before Cape Horn |
| First Woman to complete the Vendee Globe | Whirlpool | French | Catherine Chabaud | Non-stop round the world race 1996/97 |
| First Woman to sail around the world (Solo) on a Multihull | B&Q | British | Dame Ellen McArthur | (Record 2005) At 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds Ellen also broke the solo record and became the fastest person (man or woman) to sail around the world at that time |
| First Women to win a non-stop around the world race | Doha 2006 | British | Sharon Ferris Choat/ Karine Fauconnier | Racing aboard Doha 2006 in the 1985 Oryx Quest - Non-stop Doha to Doha via Cape Horn (Circumnavigation) |
| First Woman to sail single handed both ways around the world | Aviva | British | Dee Caffari MBE | 2006 Westabout (first woman) - 2009 Vendee Globe (Eastabout) |
| First Woman to Skipper a winning around the world race yacht | Sanya Serenity Coast | British | Wendy Tuck | 2017/18 Clipper Round the World Race |
| First All-Female Crew to win an around the world race | Maiden | British | Heather Thomas | 2023/24 Ocean Globe Race |
| First Women of Colour to race around Cape Horn | Maiden | British | Heather Thomas | Vuyisile Jaca, Junella King, Maryama Seck - 2023/24 OGR |
| First Female Skipper to win the Trans Pac | Restless | USA | Ali Bell | |
| First Female Skipper to win the Sydney Hobart | Min River JPK | Australian | Jiang Lin | Two Handed Sydney to Hobart 2025 Overall Winner |
| First Woman to break the non-stop round the world record (Jules Verne) | Cheyenne | USA | Adrienne Cahalan | Adrienne Cahalan was the Navigator on board Cheyenne (the only US winner of the round the world record was written out of French sporting history because they refused to pay the Jules Verne fee) when they broke Bruno Peyron's round the world record by 5 days in 2012! At 58 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes, 45 seconds that made Adrienne Cahalan the fastest women to circumnavigate the globe until bettered by Dona Bertarelli. |
| Fastest Woman to circumnavigate the globe in the Jules Verne | Spindrift2 | French | Dona Bertarelli | Dona Bertarelli the fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe whilst competing in the Jules Verne (45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds, sailing around the world nonstop for 29,002 miles at an average speed of 26.51 knots). She just missed out on the outright non-stop round the world record by 2 days. |
| First All-Female Crew to sail around the world non-stop | IDEC Sport | French | Alexia Barrier/Dee Caffari | Time; 57 days, 21 hours, 20 minutes, 0 seconds |
Women who have sailed around the world non-stop
| Names | Position |
|---|---|
| Kay Cottee | Single-handed |
| Isabelle Autissier | Single-handed |
| Catherin Chabaud | Single-handed |
| Ellen McArthur | Single-handed |
| Anne Liardet | Single-handed |
| Karen Leibowitz | Single-handed |
| Dee Caffari | Single-handed |
| Sam Davies | Single-handed |
| Miranda Merron | Single-handed |
| Justine Mettraux | Single-handed |
| Clarisse Cremer | Single-handed |
| Pip Hare | Single-handed |
| Isabelle Joschke | Single-handed |
| Alexia Barrier | Single-handed |
| Violette Dorange | Single-handed |
| Kirsten Neuschäfer | Single-handed |
| Laura Dekker | Single-handed |
| Cole Breuer | Single-handed |
| Jeanne Socrates | Single-handed |
| Sharon Frerris-Choat | Doha 2006 |
| Karine Fauconnier | Doha 2006 |
| Adrienne Cahalan | Navigator - Cheyenne |
| Dona Bertarelli | Crew - Spindrift |
| Annemieke Bes | Crew; IDEC Sport |
| Deborah Blair | Crew; IDEC Sport |
| Molly LaPointe | Crew; IDEC Sport |
| Tamara Echegoyen | Crew; IDEC Sport |
| Stacey Jackson | Crew; IDEC Sport |
| Rebecca Gmuer Hornell | Crew; IDEC Sport |
| Maiden Crew 1989/90 | Royal SunAlliance Crew |
|---|---|
| Tracy Edwards | Tracy Edwards |
| Mikaela Von Koskull | Adrienne Cahalan |
| Dawn Riley | Mikaela Von Koskul |
| Jeni Mundy | Samantha Davies |
| Claire Warren (Russel) | Emma Westmacott |
| Joanna Gooding | Miranda Merron |
| Michele Paret | Emma Sanderson (Richards) |
| Nancy Hill | Frederique Brule |
| Sally Hunter (Creaser) | Hannah Hartshorn (Harwood) |
| Tanja Visser | Helena Darvelid |
| Angela Heath | Sharon Frerris Choat |
| Mandy Swan | |
| Sarah Davies |
| Maiden Crew OGR 2023/24 | IDEC Sport Crew 2025/26 |
|---|---|
| Heather Thomas | Alexia Barrier |
| Kate Ledgard | Dee Caffari |
| Ami Hopkins | Molly Lapointe |
| Junella King | Annemieke Bes |
| Najiba Noori | Deborah Blair |
| Rachel Burgess | Tamara Echegoyen |
| Molly Lapointe | Stacey Jackson |
| Dhanya Pilo | Rebecca Gmuer Hornell |
| Payal Gupta | |
| Capucine Treffot | |
| Maryama Seck | |
| Vuisile Jaca | |
| Lana Coomes | |
| Willow Bland | |
| Erica Lush | |
| Estelle Baud |