By Emilie Ikeda—
NBC News
Cole Brauer, 29, just became the first American woman to circumnavigate the world solo, non-stop, aboard her 40-foot racing sailboat First Light.
The New Yorker arrived on Thursday in A Coruña (Spain) after
a dangerous 30,000-mile journey that lasted 130 days.
And she thanked her family and followers who were waiting for her on the ground.
“This is really cool and so overwhelming in every sense of the word,” he exclaimed, before drinking champagne from his trophy.
Cole Brauer.colebraueroceanracing via Instagram
The sailor, who is five feet two inches tall (1.58 meters), placed second among 16 avid sailors who competed in the Global Solo Challenge, a circumnavigation regatta that departed from A Coruña with participants from 10 countries.
The event, a pioneer of its kind, allowed a wide range of boats to depart on successive departures based on their performance characteristics.
Brauer set sail on 29 October and sailed up the west coast of Africa, past Australia and around the tip of South America before returning to Spain.
Brauer is the only woman and the youngest competitor in the event, something she
hopes young girls inside and outside of the sport can be inspired by.
“It would be amazing if just one girl saw me and said, 'Oh, I can do it too,'” Brauer said, referring to her historic sailing.
It is an exhausting regatta, which more than half of the competitors have abandoned so far.
One of them collided with something that caused his sailboat to flood, and another had to abandon it after a mast broke when a strong storm was approaching.
The four-month journey is fraught with danger, including navigating the three Great Capes of Africa, Australia and South America.
Rounding South America's Cape Horn, where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet, is often compared to climbing Everest for its perfect storm: a pronounced rise of the ocean floor and westerly winds kick up huge waves.
Combined with the frigid waters and stray icebergs, the area is known as a ship graveyard, according to NASA.
Brauer indicated that she was “incredibly excited” when she passed Cape Horn in January.
Marco Nannini, organizer of the Global Solo Challenge, said the comparison with climbing Everest does not reflect the difficulty of the race.
Sailing solo not only means being a captain, but also a project manager: directing the sailboat, repairing the equipment, knowing the weather conditions and maintaining physical health.
Nannini cited the relatively minuscule number of people who have sailed around the world solo — 186, according to the International Association of Cape Horn Sailors — as evidence of the challenges competitors face.
More than 6,000 people have climbed Everest, according to High Adventure Expeditions.
Brauer faced 30-foot waves that had enough force to throw her to the other side of the boat.
In a scare caught on camera, she seriously injured a rib about halfway through the test.
At another point, her American team asked him to put an IV in her arm due to dehydration she was suffering from vomiting and diarrhea.
He was able to stay in constant communication with his team members, most of whom are based in New England, and entertain himself with Netflix and video calls with his family via Starlink satellites.
That's also how Brauer was able to use Zoom to connect with NBC News for an interview, while sailing about 1,000 miles west of the Canary Islands.
Although Brauer was technically alone on the First Light, she had the company of 470,000 followers on Instagram, where she often opened up about life on an unforgiving sea while reflecting on her voyage.
“It's all worth it when you get here, sit on the bow and see how beautiful it is,” he said in an Instagram video, before turning the camera to show the radiant sunrise.
Brauer grew up on Long Island, but didn't learn to sail until he went to college in Hawaii.
He changed his goal of being a doctor for a life in the water.
But he soon realized that pursuing a career as a sailor is extremely difficult, as professionals often hesitate to accept a 100-pound (45 kilo) young woman on his team.
Even when she was trying to find sponsors for the Global Solo Challenge, she indicated that she suffered a lot because they saw her as a “burden.”
Brauer's message to skeptics and naysayers?
“Watch me.”
“I try a lot harder when someone tells me, 'No, you can't do that,' or 'You're too small,'” Brauer explained.
“The greatest asset is your mental strength, not physical strength,” Nannini said.
“Cole is showing it to everyone.”
Brauer hopes to continue competing professionally and already has his sights set on another round-the-world trip, but not before getting his hands on a croissant and cappuccino.
“My mouth is watering just thinking about it.”