Cole Brauer

Cole Brauer is a record-breaking American professional sailor known worldwide as the first woman from the United States to race solo, nonstop around the globe on a sailboat. At the age of 29 she finished second in the grueling 2023-2024 solo race around the world navigating over 27,000 miles in 130 days aboard her Class40 yacht, First Light. A fierce advocate for breaking down barriers in the male-dominated world of ocean racing, Brauer captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands during her voyage by sharing her unfiltered journey online. A graduate of the University of Hawai’i, Brauer now continues to push the limits of the sport as a co-skipper for an IMOCA 60 team. Her story is one of grit, finding strength in vulnerability, and proving that size and stereotype do not define capability on the world’s most challenging stage.