The first around the world sailing record for

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical object, astronomical body (e.g. a planet or natural satellite, moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnaviga ...

of the world can be attributed to the surviving crew of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

's expedition, including the last captain

Juan Sebastián Elcano Juan Sebastián Elcano (Elkano in modern Basque language, Basque; also known as ''del Cano''; 1486/1487 – 4 August 1526) was a Spaniards, Spanish navigator, ship-owner and explorer of Basques, Basque origin, ship-owner and explorer from Getaria ...

who completed their journey in 1522. Although not in a single voyage but Magellan was technically the first to circumnavigate the globe since he was killed in the

Mactan Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is ...

Islands and while in the Kingdom of Portugal's service, Magellan had already reached the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia on previous voyages traveling east (from 1505 to 1511–1512). By visiting this area again but now traveling west, Magellan achieved a nearly complete personal circumnavigation of the globe for the first time in history. The first solo record was set by

Joshua Slocum Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844 – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) 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 w ...

in the ''Spray'' (1898). The current record holders are IDEC 3, skippered by Francis Joyon in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds for a crewed journey, and

François Gabart François Gabart (born 23 March 1983 in Saint-Michel-d'Entraygues, France) is a French professional offshore yacht racer who won the 2012-13 Vendée Globe in 78 days 2 hours 16 minutes, setting a new race record. In 2017 he set the speed record ...

with Macif in 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds for a solo journey. Most races or solo attempts start from Europe. Due to the configuration of the continents, sailing around the world consists of sailing on the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

around the

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

continent, passing south of

Cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

and

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders ...

. Since 1918 the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

is an option but the locks must be entered and exited using engine power. Large stretches of the canal can be crossed under sail power. Sailing around the world can be done by two directions: eastward or westward. The dominant winds and currents (outside tropical areas) make the voyage eastwards on the Southern hemisphere faster, most skippers and yachts who race prefer this route. Today, the

multihull A multihull is a boat or ship with more than one Hull (watercraft), hull, whereas a vessel with a single hull is a monohull. The most common multihulls are catamarans (with two hulls), and trimarans (with three hulls). There are other types, wi ...

s perform much better than monohulls and hold the best times. Leisure yacht skippers who prefer tropical seas more often go westward, using the

trade wind The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere, ...

s (and the

). The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded for the fastest qualifying circumnavigation, starting from an imaginary line between the Créac'h lighthouse on

Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...

island, France, and the Lizard Lighthouse, UK. The records are homologated by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC). WSSRC rules state that qualifying round-the-world voyages must be at least 21,600 nmi long, calculated along the shortest possible track from the starting port and back that does not cross land and does not go below 63°S. The

great-circle distance The great-circle distance, orthodromic distance, or spherical distance is the distance between two points on a sphere, measured along the great-circle arc between them. This arc is the shortest path between the two points on the surface of the ...

formulas are to be used, assuming that the great circle length is 21,600 nmi. It is allowed to have one single

waypoint A waypoint is a point or place on a route or line of travel, a stopping point, an intermediate point, or point at which course is changed, the first use of the term tracing to 1880. In modern terms, it most often refers to coordinates which spe ...

to lengthen the calculated track. The equator must be crossed. In reality, this means that the boat should pass a waypoint at or not far from the antipode of the starting port of the journey (the exact position depends on how short the shortest possible track is). For example, the

Vendée Globe --> The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop, unassisted round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendé ...

starts at 46°N 2°W, has a waypoint at 57°S 180°E, and barely makes the distance requirement. The participants don't have to go to the antipode at 46°S 178°E since the rounding of Africa gives extra distance.

Notable races

The most famous races around the world are: * The

, a non-stop solo race, currently run using the

IMOCA 60 The IMOCA ("Open 60") is a 60ft (18.3 m) development class monohull sailing yacht governed by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle event are single or two person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum an ...

Class. *

The Ocean Race The Ocean Race is a yacht race around the world, held every three or four years since 1973. Originally named the Whitbread Round the World Race after its initiating sponsor, British brewing company Whitbread, in 2001 it became the Volvo Ocean R ...

, a stopping fully crewed race, currently using the

Volvo Ocean 65 The Volvo Ocean 65 is a class of monohull racing yachts. It is the successor to the Volvo Open 70 yacht used in past editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. It was announced at a conference in Lorient, France, during a stopover in the 2011–2012 Volvo ...

and

class. Previously known as the Whitbread Round The World Race and the Volvo Ocean Race. * The

Clipper Round the World Yacht Race The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a biennial sailing race that takes paying amateur crews on one or more legs of a circumnavigation of the globe in 11 specially designed identical yachts owned by Clipper Ventures. Professional skippers ...

, a stopping crewed race for amateur crews using the Clipper 70 Class. * The Golden Globe Race has returned since

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

as a retro sailing race without the use of modern technology for navigation. Former races including: * The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, held in 1968-1969, the first round-the-world yacht race. * The BT

Global Challenge The Global Challenge (not to be confused with Global Challenge Award) was around a world yacht race run by Challenge Business, the company started by Sir Chay Blyth in 1989. It was held every four years and took a fleet of one-design steel yachts, ...

, was a race held every four years and followed the westward route. * The Race, was a race held in 2000, involving multihulls. * The Oryx Quest, held in 2005, starting from

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. * The

Velux 5 Oceans Race The Velux 5 Oceans Race was a round-the-world single-handed yacht race, sailed in stages, managed by Clipper Ventures since 2000. Its most recent name comes from its main sponsor Velux. Originally known as the BOC Challenge, for the title sponsor ...

, a stopping solo race, currently run using the

Class previously known as the BOC Challenge, later as Around Alone. * The

Barcelona World Race The Barcelona World Race is a non-stop, round-the-world yacht race for crews of two, sailed on Open 60 IMOCA monohull boats. Following the Clipper route, it starts and finishes in Barcelona, and is organised by the Barcelona Ocean Sailing Foun ...

, a non-stop two-handed race, currently run using the

Class.

Notable solo achievements

From the first round-the-world yacht race ( Sunday Times Golden Globe Race) in 1968, to November 2020, around 200 sailors tried their luck in a monohull and less than 100 managed to complete the course, mainly in the context of the

. Only 6 sailors achieved the Westward route facing the dominant winds and currents. Only 4 sailors managed to complete a round-the-world tour in a single-handed

without stopover and without assistance: * Francis Joyon (2004) 72 days, (2008) 57 days *

Ellen MacArthur Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur (born 8 July 1976) is an English retired sailor and charity founder. MacArthur is a successful solo long-distance yachtswoman – on 7 February 2005, she broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnaviga ...

(2005) 71 days * Thomas Coville (2016) 49 days, (2011) 61 days, (2008) 59 days * Francois Gabart (2017) 42 days Only 3 sailors have raced non-stop solo around the world in both directions. Mike Golding and Dee Caffari both set WSSRC Westbound world records using

boats and also finishing the Eastbound Vendee Globe Race. In 2018 Jean-Luc Van Den Heede also managed this achievement.

Eastward route

Crewed

Single-handed

Multihulls

Monohulls

Non-stop Longest Distance Sailed

Recognised by the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

Singlehanded Female

The following voyages were pioneers and not officially recognized by the WSSRC. * Ten women have completed the Vendee Globe two of these broke the outright record and more recently the establishment of a monohull record. * In 1978 sailed solo round the world in 272d on Express Crusader (formerly Spirit of Cutty Sark) a 53 ft Monohull Van der Stadt design Gallant 53. * In 1978 became the first women to sail around the world in 401-day voyage 1978http://www.solarnavigator.net/dame_naomi_james.htm#:~:text=In%20context? In context.

Singlehanded Female Monohull

Westward route

This route is the more demanding one, as it faces the dominant winds and currents. There are fewer attempts and records.

Outright Crewed

As of February 2010, no record has been homologated.

Outright Single-handed

Female Non-stop Single-handed

Passage records

Multihull

Multihull (singlehanded)

Monohull (singlehanded)

Singlehanded IMOCA

Intermediate records

The rules for intermediate records are set by the WSSRC. * Equator to Equator * Indian Ocean * Pacific Ocean * South Atlantic Ocean

From Equator to Equator

From the Atlantic Ocean: Equator =>

Cape Agulhas Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the In ...

(

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

) => Around

=> Equator

Indian Ocean

from

(longitude 20°E) to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

south point, (longitude : 146°49'E)

Pacific Ocean

south point, (longitude : 146°49'E) to

(longitude 67°16'W) *

South Atlantic Ocean

From

(longitude 67°16'W) to

(longitude 20°E)

From Jules Verne Trophy starting line (Ushant) to Equator (out of WSSRC rule)

From Equator to Cape of Good Hope (out of WSSRC rules)

From Cape Horn to Equator (out of WSSRC rules)

From the

cape Horn Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

, cutting the longitude 67°16'W, up to the Equator

From Equator to Jules Verne Trophy finishing line (Ushant) (out of WSSRC rules)

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Around The World Sailing Record Sailing records