Brian 'BJ' Caldwell | |
---|---|
Born | December 17, 1975 |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Sailor |
Known for | Held the record as the youngest person to sail solo around the world (with stops and assistance); First person under the age of 21 to complete a solo circumnavigation |
Brian 'BJ' Caldwell (born December 17, 1975) is an American sailor. He spent seven years cruising the South Pacific with his parents when he was young, returning to Hawaii at age 15. He departed Hawaii aged 19 and completed his voyage on September 28, 1996. He was the youngest solo circumnavigator, finishing at the age of 20, making him the first person under age 21 to circumnavigate. He has raced in France in the Mini Transat 6.50, Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Fastnet, Transpacific Yacht Race and other sailing races. [1]
Caldwell departed from Honolulu, Hawaii on June 1, 1995, traveling to Vanuatu, Cocos (Keeling), Mauritius, Durban, Cape Town, St. Helena, Grenada, Panama, and returning to Honolulu on September 28, 1996.
Caldwell reported a number of difficulties on his voyage, "I was rolled by a big wave in the Indian Ocean, I was almost run down by a supertanker. I encountered a lot of storms, especially around South Africa. But nothing that unexpected. It's a given on a circumnavigation." [1]
Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body. This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth.
Hōkūleʻa is a performance-accurate waʻa kaulua, a Polynesian double-hulled voyaging canoe. Launched on 8 March 1975 by the Polynesian Voyaging Society, she is best known for her 1976 Hawaiʻi to Tahiti voyage completed with exclusively Polynesian navigation techniques. The primary goal of the voyage was to explore the anthropological theory of the Asiatic origin of native Oceanic people, of Polynesians and Hawaiians in particular, as the result of purposeful trips through the Pacific, as opposed to passive drifting on currents, or sailing from the Americas. A secondary project goal was to have the canoe and voyage "serve as vehicles for the cultural revitalization of Hawaiians and other Polynesians."
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Bernard Moitessier was a French sailor, most notable for his participation in the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, the first non-stop, singlehanded, round the world yacht race. With the fastest circumnavigation time towards the end of the race, Moitessier was the likely winner for the fastest voyage, but he elected to continue on to Tahiti and not return to the start line in England, rejecting the idea of the commercialization of long distance sailing. He was a French national born and raised in Vietnam, then part of French Indochina.
The sport and practice of single-handed sailing or solo sailing is sailing with only one crewmember. The term usually refers to ocean and long-distance sailing and is used in competitive sailing and among Cruisers.
The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed, round-the-world yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first round-the-world yacht race. The race was controversial due to the failure of most competitors to finish the race and because of the apparent suicide of one entrant; however, it ultimately led to the founding of the BOC Challenge and Vendée Globe round-the-world races, both of which continue to be successful and popular.
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Jesse Martin, OAM is a German-Australian sailor who in 1999 became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, non-stop, and unassisted, Martin's journey in the 34-foot (10 m) S&S 34 sloop Lionheart-Mistral took approximately 11 months. He chronicled his adventures in the book Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit, and his story was made into a documentary, Lionheart: The Jesse Martin Story.
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Commander (Dr.) Abhilash Tomy, KC, NM is a retired Indian naval officer and yachtsman. In 2013, he became the first Indian to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world under sail, and he also competed in the 2018 Golden Globe Race. On 10 January 2021, he retired from the Navy by applying for premature retirement from service as he wanted to focus on participating in the Golden Globe Race in 2022.