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YouTubeCole Brauer joins the Enormocast after becoming the first American woman to race solo around the world in the Global Solo Challenge in 2023. The 30,000‑mile circumnavigation pushed her through storms, gear failures, sleep deprivation, and the kind of isolation only found in climbing in places like Baffin Island. During the race, Cole became its breakout star, documenting the journey with disarming honesty and a surprising amount of joy. On this Enormocast, we talk about how a kid from Long Island ended up skippering a Class40 sailboat alone across the world’s biggest oceans, what its like to embrace being alone in a roiling sea, and how landfall after the race was perhaps the scariest part of all.
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Found Cole on Instagram when she posted a live stream rounding Cape Horn. I was immediately captivated by her way of sharing her adventure. There was a subscription chat on Insta that Cole sponsored and contributed to a couple of times a day most days. It was joyful to be a member of Cole’s online community. I got into the habit of listening for notifications from the chat that increased markedly when Cole was online. This was in the middle of my nightly sleep which I gladly interrupted for the opportunity to chat…..When the race concluded, Cole became highly sought after by the media and watched her submit to many interviews but at the same time, distance herself (understandably). This podcast gave a great revealing of how Cole was affected by everyone’s wanting her. I am reminded of how Maggie Rogers reacted to being “discovered” ….
Happy to call her a friend and competitor!
She’s pretty cool!