Dame Naomi James | |
|---|---|
| Born | Naomi Christine Power (1949-03-02)2 March 1949 (age 76) New Zealand |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Ocean sailor |
| Years active | 1977–1983 |
| Known for | First woman to sail solo around the globe via Cape Horn |
| Spouse | Rob James |
Dame Naomi Christine James,DBE (néePower; born 2 March 1949) is the first woman to have sailedsingle-handed (i.e. solo) around the world viaCape Horn,[1] the second woman to have ever sailed solo around the world. She departedDartmouth, Devon on 9 September 1977 and finished her voyage around the globe on 8 June 1978 after 272 days, thus improving SirFrancis Chichester's solo round-the-world sailing record by two days.[1][2]
She was born inNew Zealand on a landlocked sheep farm in theHawkes Bay region[3] and did not learn how to swim until the age of 23.[1] She worked as a hairdresser[4] until she boarded a passenger boat for Europe.[1]
In the summer of 1975 inSaint-Malo, France she met her future husband Rob James, who was skippering yachts forChay Blyth and who had come into port with a charter boat. She learned about sailing from Rob James, and while waiting for him to return from an ocean race and marry her, she made the decision to sail single-handed around the world, non-stop.[citation needed] She told Rob her dream on their honeymoon, and had only six-weeks sailing experience at the time.[citation needed]Chay Blyth lent her the boatSpirit of Cutty Sark (later renamedExpress Crusader), other people raised money for supplies, and theDaily Express raised sponsorship money.[5] She sailed around the world aboard the 53-foot (16 m) yachtExpress Crusader. During her voyage, she once nearly lost her mast, capsized[1] and had no radio for several weeks.[5]
Naomi James was made adame commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 in recognition of her achievements,[6] and was named New Zealand 1978 Sailor of the Year.[7]
She was the subject ofThis Is Your Life in 1979 when she was surprised byEamonn Andrews at the Earls Court Boat Show.[citation needed]
After her voyage, she found a house with her husband inCork Harbour, Ireland.[5]
Naomi was reunited with theExpress Crusader (fitted out and renamedKriter Lady) for the 1980Europe 1 STAR. She was the first woman back and broke the women's speed record for a single-handed crossing of the Atlantic,[8] with a time of 25 days, 19 hours. Rob also competed in that race, finishing twelfth in the trimaranBoatfile.[9]
In 1982, she and her husband Rob James sailedColt Cars to win the two thousand mile double-handedRound Britain Race.[10][8][11] She gave up sailing after that race, because she suffered badly from sea sickness during that voyage (possibly augmented by morning sickness due to her pregnancy).[11][12] In 1983, while sailing in the same boat which won the race, her husband fell overboard and drowned offSalcombe,Devon.[5][10] Her daughter was born 10 days later.[1]
Dame Naomi was inducted into theNew Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.[8] She graduated with a MA in Philosophy from theUniversity College Cork, and later a PhD fromMilltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy.[13][14]
Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz ofPoland was the first woman to sail around the world solo, completing her 401-day voyage (via thePanama Canal) on 21 April 1978, less than two months before James, starting and finishing in theCanary Islands.[15]
James' voyage is notable as she was the first woman to single-handedly sail theclipper route, eastabout and south of the threegreat capes; and she completed a fast (although not without outside assistance) circumnavigation in just 272 days.[12] According to the rules of theWorld Sailing Speed Record Council, a circumnavigation of the globe for speed record purposes has to start and finish in theEnglish Channel; James started and finished her voyage inDartmouth, therefore fulfilling this condition.[12]
In 1988,Kay Cottee of Australia became the first woman to complete anon-stop single-handed circumnavigation, onBlackmore's First Lady.[1]
The first woman to sail around the world wasJeanne Baret, a French woman who, disguised as a man, sailed on the Etoile, one of the two ships on the French expedition led by Louis-Antoine de Bougainville.[16][17] Baret was a herbalist and assisted in the identification of new species. The expedition left France in April 1768.
