Donna Lange, Solo Circumnavigator - Nearly Home.

by Bruce Burdett, EastBayRI.com/Sail-World on 11 Apr 2007 At Sail-World, we've been following the adventure tale of musician/sailor Donna Lange, aboard her tiny (28ft)boat Inspired Insanity, attempting a solo circumnavigation. Now she's in the home stretch.

EastBayRI.com: Buoyed by a brief chance to stand on dry land in the British Virgin Islands, with time to take a shower and make music with old friends, Donna has now set off on the final leg of her around-the-world voyage.

If all goes as planned, she'll be welcomed home to Bristol on Saturday afternoon, April 21, with fanfare at the Herreshoff docks.

Her March 28 arrival at Virgin Gorda and then Tortolla provided a reunion with the friends and British Virgin Islands where she first became hooked on sailing and found her aging 28-foot Southern Cross Inspired Insanity. Sailing and those friends were all part of setting her life back in order after a tragic automobile accident in New York state.

Ashore last week she received a warm welcome, with dinners, invitations to play her guitar and sing, and the awarding of life membership to the Royal British Virgin Islands Yacht Club.

'We're in good shape, both the boat and me,' she said, speaking by phone from her boat in the harbor last Tuesday afternoon.

'Good shape' is always relative aboard Inspired Insanity. She also mentioned that the entire electrical system had cut out upon her arrival in the islands, 'but I don't imagine it's a big deal. I'll get it going.'

It's no big deal, she said, because 'I have learned to have extraordinary faith' — in her own abilities, in friends and in happy outcomes.

'That's what got me out on the ocean in the first place. I had faith that if I just got out on the sea, she would teach me.'

Rather than fret over boat wiring, she spent her last evening ashore playing one final gig with her musician friends. Then she untied her lines and set off on her way north. And sure enough, she got the electrical system working again (although now the engine's starter seems to be on its last legs — if you tap it just right it usually works, she says).

She's well aware of that April 21 date and is confident that she can make it in time.

'I've been pushing the boat harder than I used to and getting some great daily mileage (a recent best of 144 miles over 24 hours).

Still, 'it is the Atlantic Ocean and I have to respect the fact that anything can happen out there ... People say, 'You're almost home,' but I know that this won't be that easy.'

If she arrives early, she might hide out for a day in Block Island. If late — Please give Will (Barbeau of Barrington who has organized the grand reception) my apologies. 'I'll do my best.'

Ms. Lange slipped out of Narragansett Bay without fanfare on a cold November day in 2005 but her 31,000 mile quest has gained growing attention.

Her first stop, New Zealand, made headlines in a country that loves a good sailing story. TV and newspapers interviewed this musician grandmother and former nurse who dared sail the globe in a small 26-year-old sailboat that had seen better days. Yacht clubs and boatyards welcomed her ashore and helped fix and re-equip her boat.

She caught even greater attention near Cape Horn when she was close by during the rescue of another circumnavigator from his storm-battered (and much bigger) boat.

Now plans are to give her a fitting welcome when she returns to the place it all started

'We are of a mind not to be outdone in our appreciation of heroic performances at the helm of a sailing vessel,' said Halsey Herreshoff who will serve as chairman of the welcoming committee and at whose Bristol pier she will land. Mr. Herreshoff called her feat remarkable, especially given the size and condition of the boat.

'I am very admiring of what she has accomplished and it seems appropriate for our museum to play a part in her welcome.'

A boatload of honors awaits Ms. Lange upon her return.

She will be presented the Joshua Slocum Society's Golden Circle Award granted to that small group of sailors who have sailed around the world alone. Not only is she only the second American woman (Karen Thorndike did it first in 1998 from the West Coast), but her boat is among the smallest boats on the list.

Bristol's town administrator will give her a plaque and a town painting, and she'll receive an honorary life membership to the Southern Cross Ownership Association from association Vice Commodore Jack Walsh. State Rep. Douglas Gablinske of Bristol will present a House resolution proclaiming April 21 'Donna Lange Day in the State of Rhode Island.'

Later she'll be granted Bristol's greatest honor — a spot for boat and skipper in the Fourth of July Parade.

Her progress can be followed by way of a map and daily dispatches on her website www.donnalange.com