# David Dicks

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**David Griffiths Dicks**, [OAM](/source/Order_of_Australia), CitWA, (born 6 October 1978) is an Australian [sailor](/source/Sailing_(sport)). He became the youngest person to sail non-stop and solo around the world. In February 1996, at the age of 17, he set out from [Fremantle, Western Australia](/source/Fremantle,_Western_Australia) in his family's 10m [S&S 34](/source/S%26S_34) [sloop](/source/Sloop) named 'Seaflight'. During his 9-month circumnavigation, he faced many challenges such as numerous knockdowns, bad weather, equipment failure, and food poisoning. Because of accepting a bolt to fix his rig near the [Falkland Islands](/source/Falkland_Islands), his circumnavigation was not considered unassisted. He returned safely to Fremantle in November 1996 amid great fanfare, including a [ticker-tape parade](/source/Ticker-tape_parade) and being given the '[keys](/source/Keys_to_the_city)' to [Perth](/source/Perth) City.

In 1999 he was awarded the [Medal of the Order of Australia](/source/Order_of_Australia) (OAM). David held the youngest (assisted) solo circumnavigation record for 13 years, from 1996 to 2009. By some accounts he still holds the unofficial record for the youngest solo *non-stop* assisted circumnavigation.[1] [Jessica Watson](/source/Jessica_Watson) captured the unofficial youngest age record in May 2010 with an unassisted solo circumnavigation, but her course did not meet the minimum [orthodromic](/source/Great-circle_distance) distance requirement of 21,600 nautical miles set by the [WSSRC](/source/WSSRC).[2][3] [Jesse Martin](/source/Jesse_Martin) completed a solo non-stop unassisted circumnavigation in 1999, he was 24 days older than Dicks at the completion of Dicks' voyage.

## See also

- [Circumnavigation](/source/Circumnavigation)
- [List of youth solo sailing circumnavigations](/source/List_of_youth_solo_sailing_circumnavigations)

## References

1. [All for Naught?](http://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/news/all_for_naught/). Sail Magazine, 12 August 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2010. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100519130717/http://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/news/all_for_naught/) 19 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine

1. [Jessica Watson: Keeping the Record Straight](http://www.sail-world.com/CruisingAus/Jessica-Watson:--Keeping-the-Record-Straight/69108). Sail World, 5 May 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010.

1. The [World Sailing Speed Record Council](/source/World_Sailing_Speed_Record_Council) no longer accepts records claimed by virtue of being the youngest person to complete the voyage.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Dicks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dicks) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dicks?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.