Cole Brauer, a 2012 East Hampton High School graduate who last summer became the first female sailor to the win the Bermuda One-Two, was as of last Thursday sitting in second place in the Global Solo Challenge, an around-the-world singlehanded sailing race that for her began on Oct. 29, when she set forth aboard First Light from A Coruña, Spain.
According to her parents, Kim and David Brauer, who now live in Boothbay Harbor, Me., the 29-year-old hopes to sail into A Coruña’s harbor on her Owen Clarke-designed Class40 boat “between Feb. 28 and March 1.” They and Kim’s sister, Gigi Williams, who lives in Los Angeles, plan to be there to greet her.
The “tortoises” in the race began setting off at the end of August, the “hares” later; the last entrant left A Coruña on Nov. 23. With handicaps having been figured in, the winner will be the first over the line, and if the hares catch the tortoises, there may be more than one boat within sight at the finish line. No matter her placement, if Brauer finishes she will be the first American female to have sailed singlehandedly around the planet.
As of Monday, she was closing in on Cape Horn amidst waves that struck fear into the hearts of her 264,000 Instagram followers, but which she didn’t seem to mind at all.
Nineteen boats initially made up the fleet, though now, Cole’s mother said, “there are 10.” Her daughter had broken at least one rib on Dec. 5 when her boat broached (pitched forward) in a storm, but as of last Thursday she had experienced nothing quite as serious since then. Asked where Cole was, Kim Brauer said, “Somewhere in the Southern Ocean between Australia and South America, heading toward Cape Horn. She hopes to round Cape Horn on the 23rd or 24th. Then she’ll be back in the Atlantic and heading for Spain.”
“We’re very proud of her,” she said. The last time she saw her daughter, Kim Brauer said, was on Sept. 20 when she set sail from Newport, R.I., for Spain.
Her progress can be tracked at globalsolochallenge.com, and she posts updates on Instagram almost daily at @colebraueroceanracing.
In an Instagram post, Brauer said of a broaching on Nov. 6 that “a gust of wind caused the boat to tip sideways and turn. In the chaos, the autopilot disengaged and the boat spun even further, causing the A4 [downwind sail] to wrap around the forestay [anchoring the foremast]. This can be dangerous, but I got it untangled without having to go up the mast. I’ve got the A5 up and storm jib up now to keep things stable. It’s not quite as fast as I’d like, but the sails, boat, and I are all okay, though. Something new every day!”
On Nov. 20, she reported, “I’m spending these days preparing the boat for the Southern Ocean, which is going to be the next leg of this journey — a long stretch of extreme cold and windy conditions that I’ll follow most of the way around the planet back into the Atlantic. Wish me luck!”
“We faced our first Southern Ocean front, which allowed me to pass my two nearest competitors and gain some separation to the south,” Brauer said on Nov. 28, adding two days later that “it’s hard to believe it’s been a whole month since this crazy adventure started! There have been some really rough days, but really amazing ones too, and I couldn’t be luckier to be out here living my dream. I’m so grateful to the people on my team — my sponsors, followers, family, and mentors — who have made this possible. I cannot believe how fast this account is growing and how many people want to share this journey with me. We’re so grateful to have you along for the four-plus months ride.”
As for the Dec. 5 broaching “in a line of squalls,” Brauer said, “I want to let you guys know I’m all right — a little bruised, but mostly just taking it slow. . . . I used to fall out of trees and, on my back, laugh myself to tears. I felt that way when I was on the phone with my mom right after the incident. I told her not to look at Instagram that day.”
“The Indian Ocean is flying by!” she said on Dec. 19. “The main focus at this point is to keep the boat safe and sailing conservatively through these southern fronts. They can get vicious.”
“First Light hit a major milestone this week, crossing [Australia’s] Cape Leeuwin,” she said the day after Christmas. “The course has us rounding the globe south of the three great capes, the Cape of Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Cape Horn, and it feels good to have checked two off the list.”
“It’s hard to believe this race is half over,” she said on Dec. 30. “Hard to believe I’ve already been out here for two months. Here’s to two more months until Spain.”
“Finally we’re in the Southern Ocean home stretch,” she reported on Jan. 17. “I am so excited to be back in the Atlantic soon.”