Gerald F. Spiess (January 24, 1940 – June 18, 2019) was an American school teacher best known for having sailed his 10-foot (3.0 m) home-built sailboat Yankee Girl solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1979 and across the Pacific in 1981.
[1][2] Spiess designed and built the boat in his garage in suburban White Bear Lake, Minnesota, from plywood.
[3] He sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on June 1, 1979, arriving in Falmouth, England, after a 54-day Atlantic crossing.
[4][5] In 1991, a tribute song [6] was written about Mr. Spiess journey with Yankee Girl.
Tinkerbelle, the story of a similar sailing feat in 1965.