Joshua Slocum was born on February 20, 1844.  After a career at sea, he rebuilt a 36′ 9″ (11.2 m) gaff rigged oyster boat, which he named Spray.   Between 1895 and 1898, he sailed the Spray singlehanded around the world, the first to ever sail around the world alone.  In 1900, he wrote the sailing classic, Sailing Alone Around the World, which became an international best-seller. He disappeared in November 1909 while aboard the Spray.  A very well done documentary of his life :

Joshua Slocum – Sailing Alone Around the World