the Global Solo Challenge.
Former University of Hawaii at Mānoa sailor Cole Brauer has become the first American woman to sail solo nonstop around the world. The native of East Hampton, New York, finished second out of 16 competitors in the Global Solo Challenge, a race that started and ended in A Coruña, Spain. The marathon 30,000-mile journey took 130 days, and she crossed the finish line on March 7.
Starting the competition October 29 on her vessel, First Light, Brauer sailed south around Africa, across the Indian Ocean to Australia, then crossing the Pacific Ocean to South America before returning north to Spain. Brauer was the only woman and the race’s youngest competitor. The race has been a grueling competition at the time of this writing, with more than half having dropped out. Brauer also had to overcome massive challenges, including injuring her rib after being tossed by a massive wave and becoming severely dehydrated. Brauer shared her journey on colebraueroceanracing.com
Pulling up to the finish line, Brauer recorded a live video on Instagram. She thanked her followers and said, “I can’t believe it. I still feel like I’ve got another couple months left of this craziness. …I’m really stoked. I’m really stoked to be here.”