Solo Circumnavigators and the trouble they get into - Natasza Caban

Natasza and her Polish flag SW

Natasza in Panama © SW

Polish sailor, Natasza Caban, 32, completed her 26.000 mile single handled voyage around the world on 2nd December in Honolulu. Arriving at the Hawaii Yacht Club, aged 32, she became one of the youngest women in history to have sailed solo around the world.

The two year four month voyage on her 34 foot sloop Tanasza Polska Ustka was divided into sixteen parts. From the start in Hawaii she went to Vanuatu, Port Moresby, Darwin, Cocos Keeling Islands, La Reunion, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Cape Town, St.Helena, Fernando de Noronha, Saint Lucia, Panama, Galapagos and Marquesas Islands.

To avoid The Mexican hurricane season in the Pacific, the last leg of the cruise turned out to be a bit longer than expected - on her way from Panama to Honolulu Natasza had to stop at Galapagos and the Marquesas Islands. After a stormy last few nights, mother nature blessed her final day with beautiful sunshine and fair winds. She was greeted at the dock by many friends.

It was all possible thanks to Natasza’s sheer determination, eight-year-long preparations, and the support of many great friends during the whole cruise. She has now been awarded the Jachtsmen Roku prize for 2009 in Poland.

I aked Natasza how, in a country like Poland, not know for its sailing prowess, she started sailing.

Natasza’s welcome in Hawaii at the end of her voyage © SW

'I started sailing,' she told me, on a lake close to the Baltic sea in Poland. then because I live in Ustka, a small fishermen's town we have a harbour and some yachts so this is how I tried open water sailing... and I went into this because of my sister Agnieszka who was first in my family to go sailing and I wanted to be like her.'

Natasza was always a sporty child, trying her hand at karate, volleyball, basketball and horse-riding. However, once she started sailing, she and her sister sailed together frequently, ending up sailing the Atlantic together. By the time Natasza was 22 she was gaining more and more experience, sailing as crew in places as far away as Australia and the South Pacific, and started to think about doing her own unique sail. Between Hobart and Sydney she was injured during a dismasting, but soon sailed off on a boat to Hawaii.

'My mom never sailed,' she told me, 'so for her it is very difficult to imagine what I am doing when I sail, but my dad wanted me to fulfill my dream and I know he is with me looking down at me from above.

With the germ of an idea already in her mind, Natasza began to sail a lot with single-handers. She sailed with Brian Caldwell, who, in 1995 had sailed around the world alone at the age of 19. She sailed with boat manufacturer John
Biddlecombe, and these sailors inspired her to believe that the 'best way to learn was to just do it and the ultimate was to do it all by myself,'

On the 27th July 2007 she set off from Honolulu, sailing westwards in the same boat that many other solo circumnavigators have used(David Dicks, Jesse Martin, Don McIntyre, Jessica Watson) - a Sparksman & Stephens 34. For this boat she will be ever grateful to Australian sailor Mike Steward, who sold her the boat. 'He let me prepare here before I even had the money. He was a first person to gave me a hand believing in my dream and I'm very thankful to him.'

As Natasza gradually made her way around the world, the number of people following her journey increased. Soon not only her family and close friends were aware, but 'kids in schools, TV and radio, specially in Poland.'

One of the things that has pleased Natasza greatly is the letters that tell her that she has inspired them to fulfill their own dreams. As to her own inspiration, she quotes another Polish sailor Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, the first woman to sail around the world solo, Teresa Remiszewska-Damsz, a Polish sailor who took part in a Transatlantic Race in 1972, and Leonid Teliga, the first Pole to circumnavigate the world solo.

She admires these sailors because of how little navigation assistance they had. 'Wow!' she says with enthusiasm, 'Those were real sailors in those times - no GPS, no xero for charts.'

Natasza says she has learned so much during her voyage: 'I have learnt so much I could not tell you everything.
Certainly I have learnt a lot about sailing (still learning) but I came across so many things I never would have if not for sailing solo.

'I have learned a person can be much more than they think they can, that if you really want something it will happen. You just need to do it. I learned about other countries, I learned from many new friends I met on the way, I have learned a lot about myself... learned other ways of living. The locals on any island have so little but are still so happy. They have a nice way of living in harmony with nature.'

Natasza also sails for a charity called 'Against the Odds' Foundation, and has collected money for two disabled kids who joined her in both Cocos Keeling in the Indian Ocean and in St Lucia in the Caribbean. Another aspect of her voyage which gives Natasza great pleasure is that, as a result of her own journey, girls' solo sailing has been popularized in Poland, and two young girl sailors have already set their sights on long voyages.

Other solo sailors who will be covered in this series in the coming weeks:

Bernd Lüchtenborg
Jeanne Socrates
Jessica Watson
Mike Perham
Zac Sunderland
Abby Sunderland
Alessandro di Benedetto