First woman to solo circumnavigate dies
Polish sailor Capt. Krystyna Chojnowska-liskiewicz, who beat Naomi James by a few months to become the first woman to sail solo around the world, has died at her home in Gdańsk, Poland, aged 84.
Born on 15 July 1936 in Warsaw, Capt. Chojnowska-liskiewicz learned to sail as a child and studied at the Faculty of Shipbuilding at the Gdańsk University of Technology where she met her future husband, Wacław Liskiewicz. They were both naval architects. In 1975, she was selected by the Polish Sailing Association to attempt the first solo circumnavigation of the world by a woman. The Conrad 32 sloop Mazurek was built for the voyage; Capt. Chojnowska-liskiewicz’s husband headed the build team.
She started her voyage from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, on 28 March 1976 sailing west across the Atlantic and into the Pacific via the Panama Canal. She stopped in Tahiti, Fiji and Australia, before crossing the Indian Ocean and round the Cape of Good Hope. In Cape Town, she learnt of Naomi James’ progress and pressed on crossing her track near the Cape Verde Islands on 20 March 1978, before returning to Las Palmas on 21 April to cheering crowds. For her exploits she won numerous awards including the most important Polish sailing award – the Silver Sextant.
The president of the Polish Yachting Association, Tomasz Chamera, said Polish sailing had ‘suffered an unimaginable loss’.
‘Certainly, if it were not for the achievements of Krystyna Chojnowskaliskiewicz, if it were not for her daily work for the benefit of Polish sailing, we would not be where we are today,’ said Chamera.