Skip to content

Youngest Circumnavigator?

There’s been a lot of buzz in recent years about young solo circumnavigators. In fact, the latest would-be record breaker, Dutch 15-year-old Laura Dekker, set sail a few months ago aboard her Jeanneau 38 Guppy.

We’re curious how much Lee remembers about the trip, as she was only four when Rough & Ready crossed her track at Hilo, Hawaii, in 1986.

© 2011 Ciszek Family Archives

But with all the excitement generated from recent solo attempts, we can’t remember anyone ever addressing the question of who was the youngest non-solo circumnavigator. That issue came up recently when Curtis Ciszek asked that he and his family be added to Latitude 38‘s official West Coast Circumnavigator’s List. You see, Curtis and his wife Lettie set sail in 1982 aboard their 42-ft wooden ketch Rough & Ready when their daughter Eulalie (Lee) was only 3.5 months old. She was only four when they returned in 1986. Lee’s younger sister Shelly was born en route, but did not do a complete circumnavigation.

So we’ll put it to you, our readers: Does anyone out there in Latitudeland know of a West Coast circumnavigator that returned from circling the globe when younger than 4.5 years old?

Please email us with info, and high resolution photos if possible. As keepers of the West Coast Circumnavigators List, this is info we ought to know.

Leave a Comment




Okay, so we know we already showed you video of the AC45’s first sail in Monday’s ‘Lectronic.
It’s easy for longtime sailors to forget how hard the ‘lingo’ can be for newcomers to learn.