Kay Cottee

Solo circumnavigation

On 5 June 1988 at age 34, Cottee became the first woman to sail round the world alone non-stop and unassisted when she sailed through the heads of Sydney harbour. She was greeted by tens of thousands of well-wishers. Cottee had left the harbour 189 days earlier, on 29 November 1987.

The historic voyage on her 37 ft yacht Blackmores First Lady was also the fastest sailing trip around the world by a woman

In the Southern Ocean, Cottee's boat was knocked down continuously and she was washed overboard. When Cottee rounded Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America, she celebrated with a lunch of crab, mayonnaise and self baked bread, and a bottle of Grange, a prestigious Australian wine. a fibreglass/foam sandwich construction yacht designed as a bluewater cruiser. With husband Peter Sutton, Cottee set up a boat building business near Yamba on the north coast of NSW in order to produce the yachts, each one which would take an anticipated 8 months to build. In January 1989, Cottee was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. Inductee of the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001. Cottee is also the first Australian recipient of the Cutty Sark Medal presented by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Cottee was also made a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary and an International Honorary Zontion by Zonta International Inaugural inductee of the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame in 2017

Other achievements

Australian National Maritime Museum In 1991, Cottee joined the advisory board of the Australian National Maritime Museum. She was chair of the museum from 1995 until 2001. In 2000, Blackmores First Lady, was acquired by the museum and placed on permanent display.

Publications Cottee is the author of two books. Her first book, First Lady, was published by Macmillan in 1989. Her second book, All at Sea on Land, was published by Pan Macmillan in 1998, about her life in the ten years since the voyage.