Kay Cottee
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Kay Cottee, AO (b. 1954, Sydney, Australia) was the first female sailor to perform a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the world. She performed this feat in 1988 in her 11 metre sloop First Lady, taking 189 days.
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[edit] Life
Born Kay McLaren, the youngest of four daughters, in Sydney on January 25th, 1954 Cottee grew up in the southern Sydney suburb of Botany Bayside, near Sans Souci. She was born into a yachting family and was taken sailing for the first time when only a few weeks old.
[edit] Achievement
At 34, Kay Cottee became the first woman to sail solo, unassisted and nonstop round the world in June 1988. Leaving on November 29th, 1987 from Watsons Bay and returning 189 days later on June 5th, she cruised into Sydney Harbour to be met by tens of thousands of well wishers.
Her historic voyage on 11.2m First Lady was the result of a childhood ambition.
[edit] Voyage
She suffered extensive bruising when, in the Southern Ocean, her boat turned upside down and she was washed overboard while harnessed to the boat by two safety lines. A highlight of her trip was rounding Cape Horn of southern Chile, the southernmost tip off South America which she celebrated with a lunch of crab, mayonnaise and self baked bread, and a bottle of Grange, a prestigious Australian wine.
[edit] First Lady
Her boat First Lady was a Cavalier 37 (11.2m) fin keel yacht.
[edit] Since
Her new book, about her life since the voyage, is All at Sea on Land, published by Collins. Her first book, First Lady, was published by Macmillan. Now a motivational speaker, Cottee has raised more than AUD$1 million for the Life Education charity. She was chair of the National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour 1995-2001, now the permanent home of her yacht, First Lady.
[edit] Personal life
She now lives at Yamba on the far NSW north coast with television producer husband Peter Sutton and their son Lee, who was born in 1993. Cottee is a skilled boat builder, painter and sculptor.
[edit] Awards
Kay was Australian of the Year in 1988 for her achievement and contribution to the nation, and has also received the Officer of the Order of Australia, a Queen's honour.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by John Farnham |
Australian of the Year 1988 |
Succeeded by Allan Border |
