Tania Aebi is an American sailor. She completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe in a 26-foot sailboat between the ages of 18 and 21, finishing it in 1987, making her the first American woman and the youngest person to sail around the world. Her record was not recognized by Guinness, because she sailed through the Panama Canal, which required assistance. She also sailed eighty miles with a friend in the South Pacific. Despite many challenges, Aebi accomplished her goal.

The Contessa 26 is a 7.77 meter (25.6 ft) fiberglass monohull sailboat, brought about when Jeremy Rogers, with a background in traditional wooden boatbuilding along with one of his Folkboat customers, David Sadler, created a modified version of the same boat in glass reinforced plastic (GRP). Rigged as a masthead sloop, with a deep keel and a hull-mounted rudder, the Contessa 26 was launched in 1966 and early boats proved to be very successful racers, including long-distance events. Jeremy Rogers Limited went on to produce the Contessa 32.