Current:Home > FinanceCole Brauer becomes 1st American woman to race sailboat alone and nonstop around world-LoTradeCoin
Cole Brauer becomes 1st American woman to race sailboat alone and nonstop around world
View Date:2024-12-23 21:54:42
A CORUNA, Spain (AP) — Alone, Cole Brauer braved three oceans and the elements as she navigated her sailboat for months.
When she and her 40-foot (12.2-meter) sailboat arrived Thursday in A Coruña, Spain, the 29-year-old became the first American woman to race nonstop around the world by herself, traveling across about 30,000 miles (48,280 kilometers).
Brauer, all 5-foot-2 (1.6-meter) and 100 pounds (45.4 kilograms) of her, is one of more than a dozen sailors competing in the Global Solo Challenge. Brauer was the youngest and only woman in the group that set sail in October from A Coruña.
The starts were staggered. Brauer took off Oct. 29. As of Thursday, some in the field had dropped out of the race.
The race took Brauer south along the west coast of Africa, around the Cape of Good Hope and then eastward toward Australia. From there, she continued east where Brauer faced the unpredictable, treacherous and deadly Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America before continuing northeast across the Atlantic Ocean toward Spain.
The race took her 130 days to complete.
“This is really cool and so overwhelming in every sense of the word,” NBC News reported Brauer saying before drinking Champagne from her trophy Thursday while being celebrated by family and fans.
The voyage is not an easy one, even on a vessel with a full crew.
“Solo sailors, you have to be able to do everything,” Brauer told the NBC “Today” show Thursday. “You need to be able to take care of yourself. You need to be able to get up, even when you’re so exhausted. And you have to be able to fix everything on the boat.”
Satellite communications allowed Brauer to stay in touch with her racing team and connect with fans on social media, where she posted videos from the race and her boat, “First Light.”
Along the way she encountered 30-foot (9.1-meter) waves that tossed her about the boat, according to NBC News.
She injured a rib and even gave herself an IV to fend off dehydration.
Sailing solo means not just being a skipper but a project manager, said Marco Nannini, the race’s organizer. That means steering the vessel, making repairs, knowing the weather and keeping yourself healthy, he said.
“The biggest asset is your mental strength, not the physical one,” Nannini said. “Cole is showing everyone that.”
One of Brauer’s social media posts from Dec. 8 showed her frustration.
“I haven’t really had the bandwidth to get into everything that’s been going on the past 48 hours, but the short version is the autopilot has been acting up again and I needed to replace some parts and do a rudder recalibration,” she wrote. “For once the light air is actually helping, but it’s been exhausting, and I’m sore and tired.”
“It’s all part of the journey, and I’m sure I’ll be feeling better once the work is done and I’ve gotten some sleep,” Brauer added. “But right now things are tough.”
But she’s handled the tough, even though some in the sport believed it wouldn’t be possible due to her gender and small frame.
“I push so much harder when someone’s like, ‘no, you can’t do that,’ or ‘you’re too small,’” Brauer said.
“It would be amazing if there was just one other girl that saw me and said ‘oh, I can do that, too,’” she added.
veryGood! (74681)
Related
- Former NFL coach Jack Del Rio charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated
- Brazil’s economy improves during President Lula’s first year back, but a political divide remains
- Taylor Swift duplicates Travis Kelce's jacket for New Year's Eve Chiefs vs. Bengals game
- Tom Wilkinson, The Full Monty actor, dies at 75
- Shaboozey to headline halftime show of Lions-Bears game on Thanksgiving
- Easter, MLK Day, Thanksgiving and other key dates to know for 2024 calendar
- Israel moving thousands of troops out of Gaza, but expects prolonged fighting with Hamas
- Happy Holidays with Geena Davis, Weird Al, and Jacob Knowles!
- Beyoncé course coming to Yale University to examine her legacy
- Washington fights off Texas with wild Sugar Bowl ending, will face Michigan for title
Ranking
- New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
- A Colorado mother suspected of killing 2 of her children makes court appearance in London
- Easter, MLK Day, Thanksgiving and other key dates to know for 2024 calendar
- $842 million Powerball ticket sold in Michigan, 1st time the game has been won on New Year’s Day
- Fantasy football waiver wire: 10 players to add for NFL Week 11
- Michigan beats Alabama 27-20 in overtime on Blake Corum’s TD run to reach national title game
- Amy Robach Reveals What She's Lost Amid Divorce From Andrew Shue
- Somalia dismisses Ethiopia-Somaliland coastline deal, says it compromises sovereignty
Recommendation
-
As US Catholic bishops meet, Trump looms over their work on abortion and immigration
-
Thai prime minister says visa-free policy for Chinese visitors to be made permanent in March
-
Owen the Owl was stranded in the middle the road. A Georgia police officer rescued him.
-
You Won’t Disengage With This Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Gift Guide
-
Jason Kelce Offers Up NSFW Explanation for Why Men Have Beards
-
Shelling kills 21 in Russia's city of Belgorod, including 3 children, following Moscow's aerial attacks across Ukraine
-
Pakistan arrests 21 members of outlawed Pakistani Taliban militant group linked to deadly attacks
-
It's over: 2023 was Earth's hottest year, experts say.