Who was the first woman to sail around the world?

No-one knows when the first single-handed voyage was made; it is possible that early Polynesian sailors, who were proficient navigators, may have been first to make a significant single-handed offshore voyage. The recorded history of single-handed voyages begins with an American sailor, Josiah Shackford, who is reported to have sailed from France to Surinam, in South America, although this has not been reliably authenticated. Another unauthenticated — and somewhat improbable — voyage is that of Captain Cleveland of Salem, who was said to have sailed nearly around the world single-handed in a 15-foot boat around 1800. A more likely account is of J.M. Crenston, who is reported to have sailed a 40-foot boat from New Bedford, Massachusetts to San Francisco (whether by Cape Horn or the Strait of Magellan is unknown).