Told She Was Too Small to Crew, She Sailed Around the World Alone
Rejected from crewed boats, she found private backers and raced around the planet alone in First Light.
Marketplace · Surprise, you've got medical bills!Cole Brauer wanted a place on someone else's racing boat. What she got instead was a list of reasons she did not belong.
Brauer, a professional ocean sailor, said she heard it over and over: "No, this, you can't do this. You can't do that. You, you're too small. You are a woman. You don't come from the correct family. You don't have the correct last name." Every attempt to join a crew seemed to end with another version of no.
Brauer said the answer was to stop asking for a seat: "I'm gonna have to race around the world solo if no one's gonna let me sail on their boat."
That decision led to a solo, nonstop circumnavigation in a race named the Global Solo Challenge. No woman from the United States had completed that kind of lone, continuous voyage around the world before.
The boat was First Light, the 40-foot racing sailboat that shares its name with her memoir. Brauer said she works the boat around 20 knots.
She found private sponsors to fund the trip, raising money on her own from supporters who believed in the attempt.
Brauer put what happened next this way: "And then you just, you go. There's no stopping."
With the money raised and the boat ready, she did, sailing First Light alone around the world without stopping.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to sail solo around the world without stopping?
A solo nonstop circumnavigation typically takes around four to six months, depending on the boat, the route, and the weather. Brauer has said her trip took four months and one week. Racers cannot stop for fuel, food, or repairs, so everything must be carried aboard from the start.
How do solo sailors sleep when there is no one else to steer?
They sleep in very short naps, often 20 to 30 minutes at a time, and rely on alarms, autopilot, and radar alerts to warn of ships or wind changes. Over months, sailors build life around constant checks of sails, weather, and the boat. It is closer to being on call around the clock than to having a normal night of sleep.
What is the Vendee Globe that Brauer wants to race next?
The Vendee Globe is a famous solo, nonstop, unassisted race around the world in 60-foot boats, held every four years from France. Brauer has published a six-year career plan that culminates in racing the 2032 edition. She now trains in France for six months a year.