An employee of The Electric Boat Company on lake Union, Karen Thorndike was the first American woman to sail solo around the world. She completed the 33,000-mile voyage in 1998, after sailing for two years and two weeks in a 36-foot yacht named "Amelia" (after Amelia Earhart, the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean). During her world circumnavigation, Karen sailed around the five great capes. Due to her achievement she received a Guinness World Record certificate.