Sailor races around the world in 235 days, becomes first woman to win global competition

A South African skipper who set out nearly eight months ago to sail across the world has made history as the first woman to win an around-the-world race by the three great capes.

Kirsten Neuschäfer, of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, won the 2022 Golden Globe Race, crossing the finish line in France Thursday.

She completed the course in 235 days, 5 hours and 44 minutes, sailing 30,290 nautical miles total.

Organizers said her feat makes her the first woman to win a race around the three "great capes" of South America, Africa and Australia. 

"If Kirsten was crossing the line in first place, she would be the first woman to win a round-the-world race by the three great capes, including solo and fully crewed races, nonstop or with stops, and the first South African sailor to win a round-the-world event," race officials said Tuesday.

Golden Globe Race course

The race required participants to leave Les Sables-d’Olonne, France on Sept. 4, 2022 and sail nonstop around the world via the world's great capes in the Southern Hemisphere, then return to Les Sables-d’Olonne. They had to do it alone with no help, organizers said on the race's website.

Other sailors in the race were from France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Malta and more.

Competition officials had predicted this week that Simon Curwen from the United Kingdom would complete the race first on Thursday, followed by Neuschäfer on Friday morning and Abhilash Tomy from India on Friday evening.

Sailors were tracked during their journeys, and race enthusiasts could keep up with their progress on the race's website.

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What are the rules?

Once the starting shot sounded n Sept. 4, 2022, sailors had to start the trek within five days. They were able to seek shelter and anchor for repairs at sea but could not enter a port, nor could they receive help from others.

Those who finished the race will get a Golden Globe plaque and the Golden Globe perpetual trophy, organizers said.

The winner has sailed film crews, cycled thousands of miles and more

Neuschäfer completed the race on a Cape George Cutter called Minnehaha. The 36-foot boat is named after a fictional native woman from American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 poem "The Song of Hiawatha."

"She is the lover of the poem's primary character, Hiawatha," Neuschäfer's website reads. "The name Minnehaha is said to mean 'laughing water' in the poem. It more accurately translates to 'waterfall' in the Dakota Sioux language."

Neuschäfer has been sailing since she was a child, organizers said. She began sailing professionally in 2006, working as a trainer and completing sailboat deliveries, including one from Portugal to South Africa.

She also has helped transport film crews to the Antarctic to gather footage and was featured in the National Geographic series ‘Wild Life Resurrection Island with Bertie Gregory,’ sailing his crew throughout south Georgia as they looked into the area's ecosystems and its challenges.

She's also a cycler and once traveled from Europe to South Africa, cycling more than 9,320 miles in one year.

How did the race begin?

The Golden Globe Race dates back to the 1960s, when British sailor Francis Chichester left England to sail around the world to Australia and back via the five Great Capes. He did it in 226 days – 274 days if you include a stopover in Sydney – to set a record for the fastest voyage around the world in a small boat.

Just a few years later in 1968, nine additional participants set out to sail solo nonstop around the globe. The only one to finish was Robin Knox-Johnston, who finished in 312 days, according to Golden Globe Race organizers.

Today's race is for "those who dare," much like it was for Sir Robin, organizers wrote on their website.

And dare, Neuschäfer did.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757 – and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas, and food. Follow her on Twitter at @Saleen_Martin or email her