White completed the trip from Cap de Gris in France to Dover, England in a time of 3hrs 44mins 39secs to seal her place in the record books.

Her achievement comes after she launched “Project Speedbird” which will see her attempt to become the fastest woman ever on water across a distance of one nautical mile.

That particular challenge is scheduled to take place next year and the crossing in a single-handed dinghy marked an important step in her preparations for the task.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have set this new Guinness World Record,” White said.

“It was a challenging crossing, which required extreme upper body strength for the entire journey.

“Although I’m mentally and physically exhausted, it now really feels as though the journey has started.

“I’m much more used to an arduous 3,000-mile Atlantic crossing, as opposed to a 24-mile sprint across the Channel, so the transition has been a real eye-opener.

“It was a real physical challenge, but my eye is set on the much shorter and much faster one nautical mile record next year.”

The 32-year-old will spend the rest of this year trying to get to grips with the difficult foiling Moth boat ahead of her world record attempt on the Thames Estuary in 2016.

White is currently undergoing intense physical training in order to give herself the best possible chance of breaking the record, and is taking support from various athletes and sportspeople from several different disciplines.

The specially-designed “Speedbird” boat, built by project engineer Dave Chisholm, displays the very best in engineering innovation, using the latest technological advances developed by Formula One, the America’s Cup and Moto GP teams.

Before White attempts the record, she will be exhibiting Speedbird in Cardiff at the Extreme Sailing Series from June 18 to 21.

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