NEWS: Woman Breaks Global Solo-Sailing Record

A British woman, Ellen MacArthur, has broken the record for circumnavigating the globe alone in a boat. She accomplished this nearly unbelievable feat in a 75 foot trimaran. During the voyage, which took 71 days, she never slept for longer than 30 minutes and never for more than four hours in one day. Fans followed her voyage on a webcam aboard the boat.



This is an extraordinary achievement of both skill and endurance. Certainly, it is one that should make her an international heroine, given the difficulty of the challenge and her being female and a small one, at that. MacArthur is only 5'3" tall. This is a very worthy tribute to the indomitable human spirit.

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[edit on 05/2/8 by GradyPhilpott]

In one word, simply amazing. After reading a recent article of the couple that crossed the Atlantic in a sailboat I've been wanting to get one of my own, the article was in National Geographic's Adventure magazine. This just inspires me more. This lady must be incredible to accomplish such a feat. Well done, well done.

I guess this proves that women can accomplaish anything , men are just a luxury. Having said that, for which I shall be berated by the guys, I think that is an unbelievable accomplishment for any person. It must be incredibly taxing to sail a boat for 71 days, with no company and almost no sleep. Brava!!!

Simply amazing, especially the broken sleep patterns for 72 days.

But what is really incredable is that she went so long without reading ATS! Man I have to get my fix much more frequently than that!

if she had a webcam transmitting the event, chances are she was in communicationas well. Helps with the loneliness, somewhat.

Of course, I look at this and think, what a wonderful way to spend a vacation

Hoah!
And people say women are useless!
Good bless this women!
She's getting knighted and rightly so!

She also broke the previous record of 73 days. The southern route is brutal and there has been a long standing compitition between the Yanks and brits of sailing solo

And i have to say from personal experaince a Trimaran is a difficult boat to sail with just 3 people. Often with this stuff there is a lot of "Solo" type equipment and gear used to sail the boat.

beats the heck out of "around the world in 80 day"

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
This is an extraordinary achievement of both skill and endurance. Certainly, it is one that should make her an international heroine, given the difficulty of the challenge and her being female and a small one, at that. MacArthur is only 5'3" tall. This is a very worthy tribute to the indomitable human spirit.

Related News Links:
www.cbsnews.com
[edit on 05/2/8 by GradyPhilpott]

Shes not a herione, she is just setting herself up for like with book deals etc.
A heroine does things to help other people, she just did it for herself and the money. No doubt she will soon be appearing on a stream of endless chat shows soon.

Flyer

Such feats are always done for some personal gain, that is the nature of humanity. Feats such as this are beneficial to us all because they stretch the limits of human endurance and capacity. Facing no less than 25,000 miles of ocean alone in a sailboat is a heroic act. I am reminded of a quote I used to see on the walls of sailors and pilots:

"Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect." --Unknown

If sailing solo around the world is not a courageous act, then I don't know what is.

Originally posted by Flyer
Shes not a herione, she is just setting herself up for like with book deals etc.
A heroine does things to help other people, she just did it for herself and the money. No doubt she will soon be appearing on a stream of endless chat shows soon.

Do you have a clue how difficult it is to sail the southern route? in order to go faster you ahve to sail closer to the artic cicrcle. Typcailly a sailor will spend 5 weeks exposed to artic conditions. She also probly had to provide for her own provisions, boat, and planning and probly came to port with not a penny to her name.

By doing this, she was REWARDED for her efforts by breaking the record. you think marathon racers only run to get fame and glory? you think competitors in the olympics only want to be doing prodcut placements?

you got it all backwards