William Hatfield (born 14 January 1939) is an Australian retired engineer and fisherman who on 22 February 2020, at the age of 81, became the oldest person to have successfully sailed solo, non-stop and unassisted around the Earth.
[1][2] Hatfield simultaneously set the speed record for a person sailing single-handedly westbound around the world in a vessel of under 40 feet (12 m) in length.
[5] In February 1981 Hatfield was aboard his fishing trawler with his partner Barbara Braddock and their two young daughters when they encountered Tropical Cyclone Cliff 150 miles (240 km) off the Queensland coast.
Despite having no food or water, the four managed to survive the cyclone and after two and half days adrift they were rescued by a passing Japanese coal carrier bound for Newcastle.
He was washed overboard during that first voyage, struck by a vicious storm during his next attempt in 2016 and faced insurmountable difficulties in rounding Cape Horn in 2017, forcing him to abort.