First American Female to Solo Nonstop?

No sooner had Sir Francis Chichester regained his ‘land legs’ after completing his historic one-stop solo circumnavigation aboard Gipsy Moth in 1967, than he sorely regretted not making the trip nonstop. We suspect that Donna Lange had similar thoughts back in 2007 when she completed a solo rounding aboard her Southern Cross 28 Inspired Insanity, having made two stops.

In any case, on July 26 she will set sail from Bristol, RI, aboard the same boat and begin her quest to become the first American woman to solo the planet — via the Great Capes — with neither stops nor assistance. And get this: She plans to use only celestial navigation for navigation and only SSB radio for communications. 

"This itinerary is much more of a tradewind route than my previous sail," says the feisty singlehander, "allowing me to cross the North Atlantic in the summer season with the trades, stay in the trades in the eastern North Atlantic and approach Cape Hope a bit early. I will be in the Southern Ocean in the summer season, though there are storm seasons north in the Indian Ocean. I will pass Cape Horn at the end of summer and be able to catch the trades in the South Atlantic, as I plan to sail more easterly from the Cape. I will return in May, the classic time of year to pass north from the Caribbean to New England."

Nothin’ to it, right? Learn more about Donna’s plans at her website, and if you feel inspired to support her dream, check out her Indiegogo site. Make no mistake, the gal is no lightweight. During her last lap around the planet she toughed it out in her 28-footer through several Southern Ocean storms during which at least one other crew had to be rescued. You go girl!