Kirsten Neuschäfer is moments away from history; she is on track to become the first woman to win a Golden Globe Race around the world.
Global (19 April 2023) – The Golden Globes Race is 226 days in and South Africa’s Kirsten Neuschäfer has been taking the race by storm. She is currently the only female competitor in the race and has managed to solo-sail her way from Les Sables d’Olonne France and is now so close to the finishing line, which will make her the first-ever woman to win the incredible expedition.
About the Golden Globe Race
The Golden Globe Race sees solo skippers tackling the greatest challenge by sailing around the world, alone and without GPS.
The race is incredibly challenging because it is a circumnavigation race based on the original 1968 circumnavigation. This means that competitors are only allowed to use boats and equipment from 1968 and the years prior. That means no modern GPS technology onboard. Each ship is however equipped with modern technology which can only be used in case of emergency, and a rescue is needed.
On the way to a World-First!
39-year-old Gqeberha-born Kirsten Neuschäfer is the first woman from South Africa to compete in the race and the second-ever woman to enter the race. She has been sailing since her youth but took it up as a career in 2006. Over the last two decades, she has been a force within the sailing community.
Her sailing has taken her all over the world but she has specialised in expeditions to South Georgia, The Antarctic Peninsula, Patagonia and the Falklands. She has even taken several film crews to these areas to film various series for National Geographic and the BBC.
Kirsten set sail from Les Sables d’Olonne France on the 4th of September 2022 and still has a while to go before finishing, she and her fellow skippers have sailed the five Great Capes and are now on the final stretch, heading back towards France.
You can track Kirsten’s progress live on the website. She is currently nearing Portugal, where she will then round the landmass and head for France and the finish.
Kirsten has managed to get some serious speed behind her, earning the fastest speed several times and setting a few records for this race. The stats were shared by the excited team back on land and cheering her on!
She overcame a few challenges since our last update and finally caught a wind that set her on the right course again.
View this post on Instagram
by 