The First Person to Sail Around the World Alone

Joshua Slocum was the first person to sail around the world alone on his boat, Spray. What is most remarkable is that he did so without knowing how to swim.

Slocum renovated the Spray, a fishing boat left to rot, and set sail for the oceans, unfurling his sails to make history.

During his three-year journey, which began in 1895, he covered approximately 41,000 nautical miles and made history as he had intended.

However, no one was prepared for the tragic end of this daring captain.

In 1909, he set sail again toward South America. Slocum disappeared near the Orinoco River and was never found again. In 1924, his wife declared him legally dead.