Tania Aebi (1969 - ) Notable Achievements Noted for circumnavigating the globe alone at the age of 28. Traveled alone except for one 80-mile segment. Occupation/Field of Study: Sailing Exploration Zone: Sea: circumnavigation, sailing; Period of Activity: 1951-2000; 2001- current; Biography Born in 1969, Tania Aebi was widely publicized as being the first American woman and the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo. However, a year after her 1987 adventure, her claim was denied because she had a friend on board for 80 miles of sailing in the South Pacific. Record books therefore indicate that Karen Thorndike is the first and only American woman to date to have circumnavigated solo. (She made her journey in 1996-1998) A college dropout, Aebi undertook her journey after her father offered to buy her a boat (a 26-foot sloop) if she would use it to circumnavigate solo; he thought that this challenge would help his daughter mature. Once she agreed to his terms, he contacted the news media, and Aebi was interviewed on several talk shows before setting sail from New York. She was also interviewed upon her return. During her journey, she sent articles for publication to Cruising World magazine, and, in 1989, she published a book entitled Maiden Voyage to capitalize on her claim of solo circumnavigation- a claim that she admits was false, as written in an epilogue to the 1996 paperback edition of Maiden Voyage. Despite the controversy regarding Aebi's solo status, Maiden Voyage offers an interesting glimpse of an around-the-world sail. Aebi faced many difficulties during her trip, including a fall on deck that sprained her wrist, problems with lice, the death of the cat that accompanied her, and several major storms. She was at sea for two and one-half years, during which she traveled more than 27,000 miles and visited several ports. While docked on an island in the South Pacific, she met a 33-year-old Swiss solo sailor called Olivier and fell in love with him. She then met with him at several prearranged locations along her route. Today Aebi is married to Olivier and living in New York. -The Encyclopedia of Women's Travel and Exploration, Patricia D. Netzley 2001 Publications Maiden Voyage Tania Aebi (1989) Book: Travel Memoir/Diary/Journal;