After 233 days at sea, Kirsten Neuschäfer of South Africa crossed the finish line of the 2022 Golden Globe race, becoming the first woman to win “the longest sporting event in the world” (see story here). She handily beat Robin Knox-Johnston’s 312-day time in the original 1968 GG race.
Competitors must sail around the world single-handed, nonstop, and unassisted via the “Great Capes” route. Knox-Johnston not only won the first Golden Globe trophy, but in that race, also became the first solo sailor to complete a nonstop circumnavigation. The first solo circumnavigation, with stops along the way, had been done by Joshua Slocum in 1909, whose book “Sailing Alone Around the World” (get it here) is a classic — and a fascinating read.
Today’s GG rules bar use of modern, technologically advanced sailboats. Knox-Johnston’s boat, “Suhaili,” was a 32-foot wooden-hulled Bermuda ketch built in Bombay, India, and is now preserved as a historical artifact, still owned by him (details here). Neuschäfer sailed a 36-foot fiberglass-hulled Cape George cutter built in Port Townsend, Washington. Both boats were designed by naval architect William Atkin to essentially the same design.
The first video below shows Neuschäfer crossing the finish line on April 27, 2023, amid much horn-blowing; the second, Knox-Johnston’s finish on April 22, 1969, also amid much tooting and horn-blowing. Obviously, the video quality is better today — thanks to modern technology. But the spectator enthusiasm hasn’t changed.
So how does it feel after lonely months at sea, battling through the world’s roughest sea, returning to home port? Mostly relief that it’s over, which is also how Edmund Hillary felt upon returning to base camp after summiting Everest: It feels nice to be home. Most likely all epic journeys end that way.