Sporting Witness
Feb 15, 2025
In 1978, Naomi James became the first woman to sail single-handedly around the world via Cape Horn.
At the time, Naomi had had only six weeks of sailing experience and had never been on her own on a boat. She also suffered seasickness, and struggled with navigation.
But with the encouragement of her husband Rob James, a professional sailor, she set off from Dartmouth, England, in her yacht, the Express Crusader.
During the 43,000km journey, the boat capsized and she had to sail through a hurricane. But after 272 days, she arrived back in Dartmouth to a hero’s welcome. In 1979, she was given a damehood. She tells Jane Wilkinson about her epic adventure.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.
Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.
(Photo: Naomi James checks the rigging. Credit: Evening Standard/Getty Images)
