Cole Brauer (born May 24, 1994) is an American sailor. She was the first woman from the United States to race single-handed around the world nonstop.

Early life

Brauer grew up on

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and attended East Hampton High School, graduating in 2012. She attended the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

, where she studied

nutritional science Nutritional science (also nutrition science, sometimes short ''nutrition'', dated trophology) is the science that studies the physiological process of nutrition (primarily human nutrition), interpreting the nutrients and other substances in food ...

and competed for the college's sailing team, later becoming the team's captain. Although she initially planned to become a doctor, she decided to become a sailor after learning the sport in college.

Sailing

After graduating, Brauer moved to Boothbay, Maine, where she currently lives. There, she began teaching at Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club, and working as a sailor to deliver boats on the Atlantic Coast. In 2018, Brauer earned her 100Ton Captain's License. In June 2023, Brauer and her co-skipper, Cat Chimney, won both legs of the 668-nautical mile Bermuda One-Two race from Rhode Island to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and back, the first women to do so since the race's inception. She finished 2nd in the 2023–2024

Global Solo Challenge The Global Solo Challenge is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Marco Nannini. The Second edition will be 2027-2028, starting and finishing in Vigo, Galicia, Spain. History The race was found ...

on March 7, 2024, sailing a

Class40 Class40 is a class of monohull sailboat and a yacht primarily used for short handed offshore and coastal racing. The class is administered by International Class40 Association which is recognised by the World Sailing. Background In 2004 former ...

boat named ''First Light'', making her the first woman from the United States to sail single-handed around the world nonstop and unassisted, and also setting a new around-the-world speed record for the class. She had started the race on October 29, 2023, and was the only woman and the youngest among the 16 competitors. During the 130 days on her boat, she injured a rib, suffered dehydration, and gave herself IV fluids. She was able to connect to the Internet via

Starlink Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 130 countries ...

satellites, and established an influential social media presence, introducing a new audience to the sport. She also trains in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

in the summer.

Awards

Brauer received

Mystic Seaport Museum Mystic Seaport Museum (founded as Marine Historical Association) is a maritime museum in Mystic, Connecticut, and the largest in the United States. Its site holds a collection of ships and boats and a re-creation of a 19th-century seaport vill ...

’s America and the Sea Award for 2024. She was a finalist for US Sailing's 2024 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brauer, Cole 1994 births 21st-century American sportswomen American female sailors (sport) Living people People from Boothbay, Maine People from East Hampton (town), New York Single-handed circumnavigating sailors Sportspeople from Maine Sportspeople from New York (state) University of Hawaiʻi alumni