Kirsten Neuschäfer is the first South African woman to take part in the Golden Globe Race and already, she is making headlines for diverting her race to rescue a fellow skipper.
Global (21 November 2022) – The Golden Globe Race is currently underway and it sees solo sailers tackling the greatest challenge by sailing around the world, alone and without GPS. This year, there is a South African woman taking part in the race and making headlines while she does it!
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.
The Golden Globe 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. Kirsten is depending on her skills in celestial navigation and dead reckoning. She set sail from Les Sables d’Olonne France two months ago and still has a few months to go before finishing, she and fellow sailors will sail to the five Great Capes before heading back towards France. It can take anywhere from seven to nine months out on the water. Simon’s Town-based Skipper Jeremy Bagshaw is also flying the South African flag on this expedition, racing his boat the Olleanna.
While she has made headlines as the first South African woman in the race, she is also making headlines for her kindness. While sailing her boat, the Minnehaha, she detoured in order to save a fellow skipper who was having trouble.
Each boat, while not allowed to compete using GPS, does have an emergency GPS system which is sealed and only broken if needed. Skipper Tapio Lehtinen activated his Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) signalling a problem and Kirsten was the first to get to his aid. Sadly, his boat sank. Kirsten was able to get him onboard her boat, the Minnehaha and divert herself to drop him off at Bulk Carrier M.V. Darya Gayatri. While he had spent the night adrift, Kirsten found him and the rescue was complete in the early hours of the next day.
“I’m full of adrenaline now, I’ve been up helming all night, and it’s quite something to be manoeuvring so close to a ship, but we’re all good. He was on board, we drank a rum together and then we sent him on his merry way. (…) No congratulations needed for the rescue, everyone would do the same for another sailor, thank you guys for coordinating it.” – Kirsten Neuschäfer
Thanks and congratulations have been flooding in for Kirsten, the teams involved and MRCC South Africa for managing all the communications for the rescue.
“WOW!!!! Bravo to all involved with the successful rescue of Tapio which was a huge effort. It was comforting to feel the support from the GGR family around the world and experience the professionalism and dedication of MRCC South Africa, as well as Capt. Naveen Kumar Mehrotra, and the crew of the M.V. Darya Gayatri who are upholding the greatest traditions of the sea by assisting a fellow mariner in distress. Thanks Abhilash for diverting and staying close by, and Kirsten your ocean experience and human spirit sets you apart. Your efforts have written another chapter in life and a special bond with our dear Tapio!!! Welcome back Tapio… your family is waiting.” – Don McIntyre, GGR Founder
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You can find out more about her story by watching the video below.
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