Tania Aebi

Who is Tania Aebi?

Tania Aebi is an American sailor. She completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe in a 26 foot sailboat between the ages of 18 and 21, thus making her the first American woman and the youngest person to sail around the world. Despite many challenges, she accomplished her goal and proved to her father that she could complete something.

Aebi recounts the story of her voyage in her book Maiden Voyage. The book is a story of teenage angst, self-discovery and adventure. Aebi's story is unusual because she was poorly prepared for her voyage, but prevailed through common sense and determination.

Aebi had practically no sailing or navigation experience when she departed on her journey, on 28 May 1985. Aebi did not have a GPS receiver, since the GPS system was not in operation then. Instead, Aebi had a sextant for celestial navigation and a radio direction finder. She did not sea trial her boat and was plagued by factory defects that could easily have been corrected before departure.

She completed the circumnavigation in Varuna, a Contessa 26. Her arrival back in New York City on November 6, 1987 after a cold November transit across the Atlantic was heralded nationally by the news media.