First American woman to race sailboat alone nonstop around world hopes to inspire other girls to sail

A 29-year-old woman from Maine became the first American woman to sail around the world after arriving in A Coruña, Spain, on Thursday, March 7.

Cole Brauer and her 40-meter sailboat, "First Light," sailed roughly 30,000 miles as part of the Global Solo Challenge. She departed from A Coruña, Spain on October 29, the Associated Press reported. 

Brauer was both the youngest competitor and the only woman to partake in the Global Solo Challenge. 

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During her journey, Brauer traveled along the west coast of Africa, sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and then east toward Australia, said the AP. 

Afterward, she navigated around Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean back to A Coruña. 

Brauer spent 130 days at sea to complete the race.

The experience was "really cool and so overwhelming," said Brauer. 

As a solo sailor, Brauer had to deal with every aspect of the voyage. 

At one point, she even gave herself an IV when she was dehydrated, the Associated Press said.

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While Brauer was alone on her sailboat, she was not cut off from the world. Throughout the race, she was able to post on social media through satellite communications, as well as keep in touch with a team on shore. 

Throughout the journey, Brauer faced massive waves and injured a rib when she was thrown about her sailboat, the AP said. 

She also had to deal with the mental challenges of sailing alone and avoiding complete exhaustion.

"I haven’t really had the bandwidth to get into everything that’s been going on the past 48 hours, but the short version is the autopilot has been acting up again and I needed to replace some parts and do a rudder recalibration," she wrote on social media on Dec. 8. 

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"For once, the light air is actually helping, but it’s been exhausting, and I’m sore and tired," Brauer said.

The exhaustion and mental strain is "all part of the journey," she wrote, adding, "I’m sure I’ll be feeling better once the work is done and I’ve gotten some sleep." 

Brauer is just 5'2" and 100 pounds, said the Associated Press — which also led some to doubt she could successfully sail around the world. 

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"I push so much harder when someone’s like, ‘No, you can’t do that,’ or, ‘You’re too small,’" Brauer said.

She also said she hopes that her success will inspire others to follow in her footsteps.

"It would be amazing if there was just one other girl that saw me and said ‘oh, I can do that, too,'" she added.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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