The First Solo Voyage Around The World
History Daily
History Daily
4.4 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 24 April 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
April 24, 1895. Joshua Slocum sets off from Boston, Massachusetts in his attempt to become the first person to circumnavigate the world single-handedly. This episode originally aired in 2025.
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Transcript
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| 0:45.9 | It's just before noon on April 24, 1895, in Boston, Massachusetts. |
| 0:52.3 | At the harbor, 51-year-old Joshua Slocum hurls a heavy bag onto the deck of his sailboat, |
| 0:56.6 | a 36-foot sloop named the spray. Inside the bag are the last clothes and provisions he needs for an epic and historic trip. Joshua intends to become the |
| 1:02.3 | first person to sail around the world single-handedly. His preparations are interrupted by a large |
| 1:08.2 | steamship in the harbor blasting its horn. Joshua glares at it in disgust. |
| 1:12.6 | He despises these modern ships with their boilers and engines. |
| 1:16.6 | For a true seaman like him, there is only one way to travel the sea by sail. |
| 1:22.6 | As Joshua scowls at the steamer, he barely notices the two figures appear at the dock behind him. |
| 1:29.1 | His wife Hetty and his 14-year-old son have come to see him off. |
| 1:33.4 | The atmosphere is awkward. |
| 1:35.3 | Joshua could be gone for years, so he doesn't know what to say. |
| 1:39.5 | Rather than embrace his child, Joshua simply straightens the boy's jacket and instructs him to look after |
| 1:45.0 | his step-mom. His farewell to Hetty is even less sentimental. There's not much affection between them, |
| 1:51.0 | and Joshua doesn't even kiss her goodbye before turning away and climbing into his boat. Joshua stows his |
| 1:56.9 | bag in the cramped cabin, finding one last space among all his other supplies. Then, with barely |
| 2:02.7 | a look back at shore and his family, Joshua pushes off. His boat slowly drifts away from |
| 2:08.1 | Doc, and his journey has begun. Joshua's Slocum will spend the next three years circumnavigating the globe alone. Despite his |
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