Kay Cottee AO (b. 1954) became the first woman in history to complete a solo, non-stop and unassisted voyage around the world. Born into a sailing family, Cottee spent weekends racing her father's yacht on Sydney Harbour. After finishing school, she built boats and established a yacht charter business. On 29 November 1987, Cottee set off from Sydney Harbour in her boat Blackmores First Lady. During the 189 days of the 23,000 nautical mile voyage, she faced icebergs, gale force winds and whales as well as homesickness and loneliness. Washed overboard off the southern coast of Africa, she was saved by two safety lines. Her only contact with the outside world was by radio, and while the demands of the journey often left her with little time to sleep, she staved off boredom by knitting and writing poetry. In the course of the voyage she broke seven records including the longest time spent alone by a woman at sea, the greatest non-stop distance travelled at sea by a lone woman, and the fastest time and speed for a solo circumnavigation by a woman. Sailing back into Sydney on 5 June 1988, she was greeted by a crowd of 100,000 people. The voyage raised more than $1 million for Reverend Ted Noffs' Life Education Centres and Cottee was named 1988 Australian of the Year. In 1991 she joined the board of the Australian National Maritime Museum, where Blackmores First Lady is on permanent display. The author of two books, First Lady (1989) and All at Sea on Land (1998), she is also a motivational speaker, boat builder and artist. Cottee was inducted into the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame in 2017.
