Article by Joe Glickman.

No stretch of water on the planet is as feared as the legendary passage around Cape Horn.

Its gale-force winds, rogue waves, icebergs and summertime blizzards have sunk more than 800 ships.

Freya Hoffmeister intended to paddle around it, and was 2,333 miles into her attempt to become the first person to circumnavigate South America by kayak.

It's almost three years since I made my second of two business visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (I was living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at the time).

Apparently things haven't changed much since 2009. In the lead up to the Olympic Summer Games, the Kingdom has officially said (according to Human Rights Watch), that it does not sanction the participation of women in sport.

Freya Hoffmeister (born May 10, 1964) is a German business owner and athlete who holds several sea kayaking endurance records.

She owns a chain of seven franchise ice cream cafes, a salad bistro and a Christmas shop in Germany.

In 2009 she completed a circumnavigation of Australia solo and unassisted, becoming the first woman and only the second person ever to do so. 

Danica Sue Patrick is an American auto racing driver, currently competing in the IndyCar Series, as well as a model and advertising spokeswoman.

She was raised in Roscoe, Illinois. Patrick was named the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series season.

Starting in kart racing, she later raced Formula Ford in England before moving back to the US and moving up to IndyCars.