Joshua Slocum was the first person to sail alone around the world. He didn’t do it on a big budget. In 1892, at age 48, he was offered a sailboat by retired whaling captain Ebenezer Pierce — a derelict oyster sloop named Spray.
Spray was nearly 100 years old and rotting in a pasture in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Slocum accepted the old boat and went to work rebuilding her. When folks saw Slocum working on her, they asked him if he was breaking her down. He replied that, no, he aimed to take her sailing.
He spent 13 months and $553 rebuilding her timber by timber. On April 24, 1895, at age 51, he cast off from Boston Harbor and sailed alone around the world.
This photo was taken in Australian waters. From there, he sailed her home to the United States. On June 27, 1898, with 46,000 miles under Spray‘s keel, he dropped anchor in Newport, Rhode Island, thereby completing first solo circumnavigation in history.
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