This American Woman Sailed Solo Around The World In The Fastest Time

At just 5’2″ and 100 pounds, Cole Brauer is a powerhouse sailing solo around the Earth in the fastest time! She was the only woman who set forth on the Global Solo Challenge.

29-year-old Brauer sailed her 40-foot boat across three oceans and 30,000 miles to arrive at the finish line and she set the world record for the fastest, solo, female, non-stop circumnavigation at 130 days.

She was keeping in touch with a logistics team with satellite communications, as well as updating over 400,000 followers on social media.

 “Solo sailors, you have to be able to do everything,” “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.”

Because the circumference of the globe is narrower the closer you sail to Antarctica, she had to take that route if she had any hope of a speedy finish. But that meant frigid air temps and rough seas, including thirty-foot waves that launched her around her cabin. That was all caught on video…and she bruised a few ribs. 

There was one point where she considered quitting—when some critical equipment failed, and she wasn’t sure she could make running repairs herself. It was her mom who told her not to quit!

She sailed into port in Spain at first light, which was perfect as that was the name of her boat! She celebrated with a champagne shower with her family and support team, a cappuccino, and a croissant.

“I push so much harder when someone’s like, ‘no, you can’t do that,’ or ‘you’re too small,’” she said. “It would be amazing if there was just one other girl that saw me and said ‘Oh, I can do that, too.’”