Meet Cole Brauer, First US Woman To Sail Solo Non Stop Around Globe

Cole Brauer, a 29-year-old woman from Long Island, New York, sailed over 26,000 nautical miles in 130 days. She is the first American woman to sail solo around the world. She took off on the journey in October 2023, off the coast of A Coruña, in northwestern Spain. On March 7, she completed her journey in Spain, where she reunited with her family and celebrated with a toast of champagne from her trophy. "Amazing finish!!!! So stoked! Thank you to everyone that came together and made this process possible," the ocean racer wrote on Instagram, sharing a picture of her holding colourful sparklers.

Brauer is the first woman ocean racer (sailor) from the US to achieve this historic feat. “This goal has always been to be the First American Woman to Race Around the World. With this goal, I hope to show that this very male-dominated sport and community can become more open and less ‘traditional’,” Brauer wrote in another Instagram post.

Sailing Solo Across The World

Cole Brauer is the only woman among the 19 sailors who competed in the race and is also among the seven who remained in the race after the rest withdrew or quit. The only companion she had through the four-and-a-half months was her trusted racing boat named First Light. It is a 40-foot monohull sailboat that typically holds a one or two-person crew.

Sailing solo across the world was no child's play. Brauer often live-streamed her journey on Instagram, giving a glimpse into her expedition to her 459,000 followers. She said that she suffered severe injuries along the journey, including a broken rib because of broaching (when a boat unintentionally changes course toward the wind) near the African coast.

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A post shared by COLE BRAUER OCEAN RACING (@colebraueroceanracing)

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A post shared by COLE BRAUER OCEAN RACING (@colebraueroceanracing)

“Solo sailors, you have to be able to do everything. You have to be able to get up even when you’re so exhausted and you have to be able to fix everything on the boat,” Brauer told news outlet NBC in an interview last week.

February 5 marked Brauer's 100th day on sea. On the final day, she slowed her arrival time near the finish line to coordinate with the “first light”, i.e. the time when the first rays of sunlight were seen in the morning, in a tribute to her boat. “I’m glad that out of all times, I’m coming in at first light. It’s only necessary,” Brauer contently told NBC.