Maritime Madams: Naomi James

Naomi James (1949-present) was the first woman to single-handedly sail around the world via the dangerous Cape Horn route. Her voyage broke Sir Francis Chichester's world record for fastest solo circumnavigation by just two days. 

For Further Reading:

• Fatigue at Sea: A Circumnavigator’s Story
• The woman who sailed solo around the world
• Unlikely Round‐the‐World Sailor Learned Haw on the Way
• Around the World in 272 Days: Naomi James’ Journey
• Sailing: Dame of the sea enriched by epic journey
• 1978: Woman takes world sailing record

This month, we’re talking about Maritime Madams. Whether through scientific study, aquatic exploration, or legendary prowess, they harnessed the power of the bodies of waters that cover our earth. 

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Womanica. This month we're talking about maritime madams. Whether
through scientific study, aquatic exploration, or legendary prowess, these women
harness the power of the bodies of water that cover
our earth. Over the course of two hundred and seventy
two days, this woman set out to sail treacherous waters

(00:24):
in a solo journey around the world. With just over
a year of training under her belt and only a
few years after learning how to swim, this adventure seeker
traversed a hurricane in the open seas and sailed without
radio contact for weeks. Her voyage made her the first
woman to single handedly sail around the world via the
dangerous Cape Horn route. Please welcome Naomi James. Naomi was

(00:51):
born in nineteen forty nine and raised on a remote,
landlocked dairy farm in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. Her childhood
was shaped by a rural life, wide old's early morning's
practical work, and little to no thought about the ocean
that would later define her adventure. Naomi left New Zealand
and made her way to Europe in a passenger boat.
This became her first experience on the high seas. In

(01:14):
the summer of nineteen seventy five, while visiting France, Naomi
met a professional sailor named Rob James, who would soon
become her husband. Naomi was twenty six years old. She
didn't know how to swim properly. Her most confident stroke
was a doggy paddle, and she would often get seasick
on boats. But sailing with Rob over the summer, a

(01:35):
daring idea popped into her head. She wanted to take
on one of the most ambitious maritime expeditions in history,
to sail around the world. She couldn't shake the thought.
She didn't want to race anyone. She simply wanted to
see if she could do it, so she pitched the
idea to Rob. He jumped on board and began training her.

(01:55):
Naomi was also able to secure a sponsorship from the
Daily Express newspaper, and her friends supported her by raising
funds for materials. On September ninth, nineteen seventy seven, Naomi
set out from Dartmouth, England, with her only companion, Forrest
the cat. Her course would take her on what's known
as the Clipper Route, the fastest sailing route around the world.

(02:17):
She'd make her way south through icy, unpredictable seas and
below the great capes of the Southern Ocean, first South
Africa's Cape of Good Hope, then Australia's Cape Lewin, and
finally the most difficult of the three, Chile's Cape Horn.
The rough southern waters make this a challenging and dangerous
feet for a sailor of any level. Naomi sailed on

(02:39):
a borrowed boat renamed the Express Crusader. It was a
fifty three foot sloop that usually required a crew of ten,
but Naomi would handle it entirely alone. In order to
keep steering the ship. Naomi slept in short twenty minute
bursts while navigating traffic through the North Atlantic Ocean for
two hundred and seventy two days. Naomi back isolation, exhaustion,

(03:02):
and everything the sea could throw at her. Her self,
steering gear was damaged, she lost Boris, the cat overboard
in the Atlantic. She sailed for weeks, a total of
eight thousand miles without radio contact. She experienced crushing loneliness,
unsure if anyone knew she was alive, or if she'd
ever make it back. She tried to keep her spirits

(03:23):
up by reading books and thinking of Rob as if
he was there with her. Six months into her voyage,
Naomi faced her greatest challenge yet, a hurricane. The ocean
waves turned to mountains, and in the rocky waters, her
boat capsized. Naomi rushed to pump out the water, weighing
the boat down. She straightened the boat and continued to

(03:44):
traverse monstrous waves and gale force winds. She went forty
eight hours without any sleep as she reached the last
great cape, Cape Horn. On June eighth, nineteen seventy eight,
Naomi completed her around the world journey. She'd become the
first woman to sail solo around the world via Cape Horn,
breaking the previous world record for fastest solo circumnavigation by

(04:08):
just two days. She was met with cheers in celebration,
and in nineteen seventy nine she was named a Dame
Commander of the Order of the British Empire. For Naomi,
the voyage was a personal revelation. The sea had transformed
her shown her own strength and resilience. In an interview,
she said it definitely sowed the seed for who I

(04:28):
am today. There's no question in an era when ocean
racing was overwhelmingly male dominated. Naomi's journey was a turning point,
proof that women could not only compete, but redefine what
was possible on the world's most dangerous waters. In nineteen
eighty two, Naomi journeyed across the Atlantic and the Round
Britain race with her husband Rob. The trip was successful,

(04:51):
but Rob died in a sailing accident the following year,
just ten days away from welcoming their first daughter. Naomi
retired from long distance sailing not long long after. Naomi
wrote about her solo sale journey in her nineteen seventy
nine autobiography Alone Around the World in two hundred and
seventy two days alone at sea. The woman who got

(05:11):
seasick on boats and learned to sail on a whim
had traversed the planet's most treacherous waters. All month, we're
talking about maritime Madams. For more information, find us on
Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan,
my favorite sister and co creator. Talk to you on
Monday