<P> Sailing ships attempting to go against the route, however, could have even greater problems . In 1922, Garthwray attempted to sail west around the Horn carrying cargo from the Firth of Forth to Iquique, Chile . After two attempts to round the Horn the "wrong way", her master gave up and sailed east instead, reaching Chile from the other direction . </P> <P> Even more remarkable was the voyage of Garthneill in 1919 . Attempting to sail from Melbourne to Bunbury, Western Australia, a distance of 2,000 miles (3,200 km), she was unable to make way against the forties winds south of Australia, and was faced by strong westerly winds again when she attempted to pass through the Torres Strait to the north . She finally turned and sailed the other way, passing the Pacific, Cape Horn, the Atlantic, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Indian Ocean to finally arrive in Bunbury after 76 days at sea . </P> <P> It is also worth pointing out that the first person to circumnavigate the world solo, Joshua Slocum in the Spray, did it rounding Cape Horn from east to west . His was not the fastest circumnavigation on record, and he took more than one try to get through Cape Horn . </P> <P> The introduction of steam ships, and the opening of the Suez and Panama Canals, spelled the demise of the clipper route as a major trade route . However, it remains the fastest sailing route around the world, and so the growth in recreational long - distance sailing has brought about a revival of sailing on the route . </P>

First person to sail around the world by the clipper route