Meet Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz: The First Woman to Sail Around the World Solo
In 1978, Poland’s Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz became the first woman to sail around the world solo. In the two years that it took her to achieve this feat, she discovered some of the globe’s most beautiful gems, like Tahiti or the Canary Islands. It was just her and the sea – she enjoyed a one-of-a-kind sense of freedom. But she also had to endure many hardships, such as harsh weather conditions. Explore the story of this ground-breaking feat, which remains a constant source of pride for Polish sailors today!
The first trip of its kind
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Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, 1977, photo: Leszek Fidusiewicz / Reporter / East News
The year 1975 was declared the International Women’s Year by the United Nations. This prompted the Polish Sailing Association to come up with a curious way to promote Polish sailing – sending a Polish woman on a solitary voyage around the world. Never before had a woman single-handedly sailed the seven seas – this would be the first trip of its kind.
A competition was organised, and Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz was chosen for the job. She was a sailor with seafaring experience including an escapade with an all-women crew from Poland to Scotland, and with a friend, to the Gulf of Bothnia in the northern Baltic Sea. The latter journey, with only one shipmate, gave her a sense of how it was to sail alone – when her friend was resting, she had to take care of the yacht all on her own.
Krystyna was quite the pioneer, and the all-women voyages she participated in often surprised people. During her voyage to Scotland, when in the town of Skagen, she encountered a Danish fisherman who tried to persuade her to abort the trip:
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Who wants to sail in such a little boat to the North Sea? And also, you’re all women. Go back home, it’s well enough that you’ve made it in one piece to Skagen.
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From ‘Pierwsza Dookoła Świata’ (First to Sail the World) by Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, trans. MK
Apart from being an experienced, determined sailor, Chojnowska-Liskiewicz had another advantage. She was a ship construction engineer and as such had in-depth knowledge of how to service a yacht – an ability that is priceless at sea. As to her own motivation, she wanted to prove that a woman was capable of sailing across the world alone (the feat had been accomplished by men before, by, among others, Poland’s own Leonid Teliga). Promoting Polish sailing was also on her agenda.
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Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz on board of her yacht, the Mazurek, near the Canary Islands, Spain, Las Palmas, 24th April 1978, photo: Jan Morek / PAP
Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, who was born on 15th July 1936 in Warsaw, became interested in sailing in the town of Ostróda, where her family moved after World War II. The town lies in the vicinity of great lakes, which became the arena of her first yachting experiences. As a girl, she looked at photographs of large ships in the press and, impressed by them, decided to study ship construction at the Gdańsk University of Technology. After she graduated, she found employment at the Gdańsk Shipyard, where she designed and constructed ships.
She married a fellow student from the University, Wacław Liskiewicz, who went on to become head constructor at the Stogi yacht shipyard in Gdańsk. In that capacity, he custom-designed and oversaw the construction of the yacht in which his wife would eventually set out on her great voyage around the world.
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The yacht was fully adapted to my needs. It was like I wanted it to be. […] It’s deck was as smooth as possible because that increased safety. It had a specially attached helm with a bolster. It was built in six months and was 9.5 metres long and almost 3 metres in width.
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From an interview in the 'Gazeta Wyborcza' newspaper published on 24th April 2009, trans. MK
The boat was given the name Mazurek (which is a traditional Polish music genre) and was launched on 21st December 1975.
Each day something different
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Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz inside her yacht, the Mazurek, Spain, Las Palmas, April 1978, photo: Jan Morek / PAP
The voyage’s route and time frame were planned so as to ensure maximum safety for the solitary sailor, such as attempting to avoid extreme weather conditions. That’s why the yacht was transported from Gdańsk to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, from where it was to begin its voyage. The ship was equipped with everything that could be needed for the long journey: provisions, tools, a radiotelephone, maps, navigation books, operating manuals of the various on-board systems, etc. Chojnowska-Liskiewicz also received a shotgun for protection against pirates and other potential wrong-doers (fortunately, she wasn’t ever forced to use it).
The launch took place at 2:00pm on 10th March 1976. Already at this very early stage, Krystyna was faced with an unexpected hardship, the first of many to come. A malfunction of the autohelm forced her to return to Las Palmas, where it could be repaired. After sorting the matter out, she started out again on 28th March. It took her almost an entire month at sea to reach her first destination – Bridgetown in Barbados. Such long stretches were not at all uncommon on her voyage. During them, she countered the unavoidable feeling of loneliness, but tried to keep herself busy:
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Each day of the week I’d do something different. Mondays and Fridays I devoted to the maintenance of the propulsion, that is the mast, rigging and sails. […] On Wednesdays, I’d work on the maintenance of the electric appliances and systems. […] On Saturdays, as a good housewife, I cleaned the yacht’s interior. […] That way, each day offered some additional attraction, so I wouldn’t feel the loneliness so much.
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From ‘Pierwsza Dookoła Świata’ (First to Sail the World) by Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, trans. MK
In Barbados, she tried to get her engine repaired – it was only generating a fraction of its full power – but without success, so she headed out for Cristobal in Panama reliant almost solely on her sails. With much effort, she managed to reach the port, where it took five weeks to fix the problem. Finally, she crossed the Panama Canal on 12th July, and five days later, she sailed into the Pacific Ocean.
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View of Tahiti island with moored boats and pile dwellings, Society Islands, French Polynesia, photo: DeAgostini / Getty Images
The Polish sailor decided to go straight to the Marquesas Islands without stopping on the nearer Galapagos Islands. Her two-month supply of fresh water allowed for that. Every few days, she would talk to her husband over the radiotelephone, usually about technical and maritime issues. But at times, her communications proved too weak to reach faraway Poland, and then, she connected with closer-by Polish ships with stronger radios, which acted as intermediaries.
At one point she encountered a playful school of dolphins:
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Soon, the entire ocean up to the horizon was full of dolphins. They were moving along my course toward the Marquesas. The big and mid-sized ones were rushing forward, and the young ones began to play with the Mazurek. They were jumping next to the boards, in front of the bow, in pairs, in threes and one by one.
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From ‘Pierwsza Dookoła Świata’ (First to Sail the World) by Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, trans. MK
On 26th August, Chojnowska-Liskiewicz reached Taiohae Bay in the Marquesas. There, she replenished her provisions and became enchanted with the Polynesian custom of throwing flower wreaths behind the stern of a boat departing to sea, a custom believed to ensure a safe return. It wasn’t long before she made her way to Tahiti, which struck her as the most beautiful place in the world. After resting there for a week, she set out for Fiji – she arrived there on 25th October. There, her yacht raised the suspicion of local authorities, who insisted on checking whether the Pole wasn’t transporting any drugs... Naturally, the suspicions were dispelled, and by 10th December, Krystyna was in Sydney, Australia.
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Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz on board her yacht, the Mazurek, Spain, Las Palmas, April 1978, photo: Jan Morek / PAP
In Sydney, Chojnowska-Liskiewicz celebrated Christmas Eve visiting the home of the Zdanowski family – Poles whom she had met there. In general, she encountered many kind and helpful people in the various ports she visited: locals, fellow sailors and plenty of Poles living abroad. During her voyage, she also frequently attracted the attention of the press, curious about her ground-breaking endeavour. In Sydney, she held a press conference and became the topic of a few TV shows, gaining quite a bit of popularity.
After almost a year of separation, she finally got to see her husband. He came to the Australian city to visit her and to help out with the necessary repairs of the yacht. The pair had plenty of time to enjoy each other's company, since the renovation of the malfunctioning generator lasted three months. They explored Sydney and also visited Adelaide.
On 21st May 1977, Krystyna left Sydney, headed north and soon faced the perils of sailing through the Great Barrier Reef. She had to carefully navigate between treacherous shoals, islets and reefs. At night, when the lack of light made it impossible to safely sail, she stopped at anchorages. Once, she almost collided with another boat:
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The trade wind brought intense showers that veiled everything. It was in such conditions that, after leaving Cooktown, I came bow-to-bow with another ship in a gateway made from two islets. Both were perfectly signposted and shown on the map. But I had not noticed the ship, the signs and the islets, even though it was midday.
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From ‘Pierwsza Dookoła Świata’ (First to Sail the World) by Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, trans. MK
The Polish sailor reached Portland Roads on 23rd July. There, her kidney stones acted up, and she had to be transported by plane to a hospital. After taking some time to recuperate, she came back to Portland Roads only to find that… her yacht had gone missing a day before her return. Its anchor had broken loose, and the boat had drifted off to sea. Fortunately, a search was quickly organised, and a group of concerned seamen managed to find the Mazurek just as it was about to crash into some rocks. Much to Chojnowska-Liskiewicz’s relief, the yacht was returned to her, and she could, yet again, set out. On 2nd September, she arrived in Darwin, where she refreshed her supplies and prepared the ship for the next leg of her journey.
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Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz being greeted at the port in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Spain, April 1978, photo: Jan Morek / PAP
Soon after leaving Darwin, Chojnowska-Liskiewicz entered the Indian Ocean, which treated her to weak and capricious winds. But after stopping briefly in Port Louis in Mauritius, the weather conditions changed for the better, and from then on, she enjoyed a rapid, easy voyage. She reached Durban in South Africa on 12th December.
She spent the second Christmas Eve of her journey in Durban, once more celebrating with local Poles – the Orzechowski family. She set out on 3rd January 1978, and five days later, she experienced another malfunction of the autohelm. This time, she didn’t go back to repair it; instead, she decided to steer the boat manually. This required almost constant attention from her, so she would only sleep for two hours a day. Exhausted by the tiresome journey, she was hit by a storm when passing Cape Agulhas:
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The storm was moving between the north- and southwest. The wind speed was consistently above 40 knots. On average, it was 45. I was tacking once to the north and once to the south. Often, I had to tack quicker because of other ships. […] The waves concealed them up to the tops of their masts. The same was happening to the Mazurek. The ocean grew tremendously.
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From ‘Pierwsza Dookoła Świata’ (First to Sail the World) by Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, trans. MK
The Polish sailor endured the storm and on 21st January arrived in Cape Town. She didn’t have long to rest, however… She found out that New Zealand’s Naomi James was also attempting to single-handedly sail across the world – and was making fast progress. If Chojnowska-Liskiewicz were to be first, she had to make haste. Her husband visited her once more and helped with the preparations for the final part of the voyage.
With a repaired autohelm, she left Capetown on 3rd February and sailed without stopping for the next 75 days. In the Atlantic Ocean, she enjoyed fortunate winds and good weather. Finally, on 20th March 1978, at full sea, Chojnowska-Liskiewicz cut through her route from Las Palmas to Barbados, completing a full loop around the globe. She officially became the first woman to single-handedly sail around the Earth. It had taken her two years to achieve this, during which she covered a distance of 28,696 miles. Naomi James finished her voyage only 39 days later.
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Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz, Gdańsk, 2009, photo: Dominik Sadowski / AG
The Polish sailor sailed into Las Palmas on 21st April, where she was greeted by a cheering crowd – including Poland’s ambassador to Spain, as well as the governor of the Canary Islands. Later, when the Mazurek entered the port of Gdańsk, it was also welcomed by numerous well-wishers, film crews and journalists who came to witness Chojnowska-Liskiewicz’s return to Poland. She was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta for her achievement, one of the state’s highest decorations, and was chosen Gdańsk’s Citizen of the Year 1978. She also received a brand new car – a Fiat 131 Mirafiori.
After her return, Chojnowska-Liskiewicz described her adventures of sailing around the world in a book titled Pierwsza Dookoła Świata (First to Sail the World), published in 1979 by the Wydawnictwo Morskie publishing house. Later, she found employment at the Radunia shipyard, but no longer worked as a ship constructor – she was charged with implementing European norms. Today, she’s retired and lives with her husband in Gdańsk. Every now and then, they go to sea on a recreational sailing voyage. She also devotes her time to the propagation of sailing, especially encouraging women to take up the sport.
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Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz’s star in the Avenue of Sports Stars in Władysławowo, 2013, photo: Adam Warżawa / PAP
As a constant source of pride for Polish sailing, Chojnowska-Liskiewicz’s ground-breaking voyage still attracts the attention of the Polish media and the imagination of countless Polish sailors. In an interview for the Gazeta Wyborcza daily newspaper (24th April 2009), she said:
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I’m not afraid of what I don’t know, although normal people are said to have it the other way around. I didn’t know how one sails around the world, so I wasn’t afraid of it. After I set out, I began to feel true freedom. This is what it was like: I only did what I wanted to, and sometimes what I was supposed to. There were no limitations. At no other place and at no other time did I feel so free.
Written by Marek Kępa, Jul 2019