Sail Newport honors Cole Brauer as she shares her journey to becoming the first American woman to sail solo nonstop around the world

Brad Read, Executive Director of Sail Newport, introduced Charlie Enright, Skipper, the 2023 winner of the Ocean Race, and 2023 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. Enright stated, “We worked tirelessly for 10 years to win Ocean Race and became the most recognizable offshore sailors in the town of Newport, but unfortunately for us, it only lasted 6 months. There’s a new sheriff in town, and deservedly so.”

“What Cole Brauer did in the last year is nothing short of amazing. She circumnavigated the globe alone, non-stop, on her Class 40, First Light in the Global Solo Ocean Challenge, and she brought the whole world along with her for the ride. Her following grew from local to national to international, touching sailors and non-sailors alike. She has more followers than The America’s Cup and the entirety of The Ocean Race among others. She’s tenacious, determined, inspirational, and most of all, authentic. On top of all that, she’s a great sailor”. Enright stated, “The longest I’ve ever spent at sea was 38 days, and I did that with friends. On her 130-day voyage, she tripled me up, and she did it by herself”! She is the First American female to sail single-handed solo nonstop around the world.

Cole Brauer addressed the first of two sold-out crowds at Jane Pickens Theater, stating that one year ago, she was doing yoga in Washington Square Park and said to her friend as she looked over at Jane Pickens, “One day I want to be a headliner there”. Brauer stated that she feels like Newport is her home as she spends six months a year here, and her friends are here. She offered a detailed history of her evolution from growing up on Long Island doing things in nature. She knew nothing about sailing but wanted to be on the ocean. She began creating opportunities for herself to build her skill set. She began as a 98-pound woman on a fishing boat. She learned how to fish and how to manage the burly, crusty seagoers. She learned to manage them and how to use her social skills to get all the tips. She worked as a photographer and studied at the University of Hawaii. She applied to join the sailing team (with no experience). She worked hard and trained and showed her grit, accepting no guff or pushback from men who underestimated her. Her fishing boat experience helped to toughen her. She would not accept anyone telling her she could not do anything. She offered to work as a racing boat photographer, opening many learning opportunities.

She next bought her own boat and ate beans every day. She learned about every aspect of the boat and how it would break, and how to repair it. After 4 years she worked to achieve her goals trying to find a method to sail competitively on the ocean.. She was given the award at the University of Hawaii as the top female athlete of the year for the full university.  She then responded to an ad for women sailors in California and, on arrival, found the boat was not going to sail, and she now had no way to return to Hawaii. Her effort to join a young male crew initially failed when they indicated the women’s place was at home. Brauer would not take “no” for an answer and pressed them until they allowed one trial. The men made major strategic errors on the trial, which Brauer instantly corrected and gained their respect. The roles reversed, and Brauer took the leadership role. Brauer views these men’s narrow view as a societal problem and does not blame them for their myopia. She remembers the exact moment when their expression changed as they accepted her knowledge and abilities. Together with another woman she selected as a teammate, they won the race they had trained for.

There were many times when Brauer’s knowledge base was not yet what she reported, and she would embellish to get in the door. She was a quick learner and would justify her presence on each occasion. When she was delivering a boat with another sailor who then quit, she was allowed to deliver it herself and double her pay. On this journey, she ultimately recognized her capacity for solo sailing. She learned to navigate and set that boat up over 4 years when the mast snapped. The boat was sold to her training partners, who then offered for her to take the boat – to make it her boat. Once accepted, she prepped for the Bermuda One-Two race. She received a lot of pushback from race organizers who dismissed her as a woman. She went on to win the solo and then the double-handed race with her partner. In the 75 years of this race, no woman had ever won the solo or the double-handed.

The next pursuit became the Global Solo Ocean Challenge, and on July 4, 2023, she began developing her boat and her team. She engaged women who had been supportive of her pursuits throughout. She hired a medical team to teach her how to provide self-care. She established a media team to share the journey daily online. Brauer celebrates Newport Shipyard as the best team anywhere. She launched from Newport and then departed from Spain on October 29 at First Light.

Brauer recounted the ups and downs of her 27,000-mile journey, including the moment when she was violently slammed into the bulkhead when a huge wave slammed the boat, and she fractured ribs. She needed to self-administer an IV and deal with a major rudder problem at 55 knots. She later had to drop the main sails around Australia for 5 days but ultimately passed Cape Horn. Brauer realized that this race was most important for her to achieve her folks and friends who were counting on her. This was Brauer’s version of summiting Everest. She owes this win to her support system. She stated: “Yes, I did this solo, but I definitely did not do it alone.” She would FaceTime her mother daily, which helped make all the difference.

Following her brilliant and fluid presentation, she answered Q&A, which had been fielded beforehand. She also did a lightning round intended to provide knee-jerk responses to prompts. The most poignant responses came following quotes from The New York Times and from People Magazine. The Times piece by Marcus Hutchinson said: “For me she’s an influencer. She’s a Kardashian. People will be looking for her to promote a product…. She has to split with the American environment”. Brauer emphatically indicated that she is an American girl, and 72% of her followers are American. She will still be speaking English and embracing her American roots.

The People headline quoted Brauer stating: “I am very interested in getting kids hooked on outdoor sports, off screens and couches”. She indicates that kids need to have a purpose and they need a “pathway”. Brauer believes she has opened a door and does not want it to close behind her. She hopes for kids to engage and not fear nature. “I do not fear nature, I fear not being in nature. Get your kids out there – it’s not scary. There’s no sharks, stop telling them there are sharks… Hands-on the tool, hey let’s go outside and use this tool – that’s what sailing is.like.”

Cole Brauer is a National Hero who, at 29, will be making news for many years to come. Newport is proud to call her our hometown world record holder. 

Photo Gallery

All photos by Jack Casey for What’sUpNewp