Kirsten Neuschäfer is a tough cookie. The winner of the 2022/3 Golden Globe solo non-stop around the world race had a steely eye and no-nonsense attitude in the weeks before the start last September from Les Sables d’Olonne, France. Her answers to media questions were as short as the limited time she had available to be prepared. In short, she kept her head down concentrating on preparing her sturdy Cape George 36 cruising yacht, Minnehaha for every eventuality.
The Cape George 36 racing is no racing boat…not even a fast cruising yacht as the more modern looking Rustler 36 and Biscay 36 yachts are perceived. This William Atkin/Ed Monk design is sturdy to put it mildly, displacing 23,300.00 lb/10,569 kg. That’s 6,000lb/2,946 kg more than a Rustler, and a lot of extra weight to carry around the Globe. Yet the 39-year-old South African did just that in 235 days, 5 hours, 44 minutes and 4 seconds – a day ahead of her nearest rival, Indian Abhilash Tomy sailing, you know what…the much more fancied Rustler 36 Batanat.
The contrast between the Kirsten we saw at the start, and the Kirsten who returned victorious as the first women to win any round the world yacht race was dramatic. On top of the world…she was smiling, firing off flares, spraying Champagne, chatting to everyone…and given a noisy reception to match from the thousands of cheering spectators who lined the Les Sables canal back into port.
A beating in Biscay
Kirsten did not start too well. Facing gale force headwinds out of the Bay of Biscay, the short, sharp seas gave no quarter to fulsome lines, and arriving at the Canaries film drop-off in 12th place within the 16 strong fleet did not sit well. Her mood was one of dark depression. By the Cape of Good Hope, however that had all changed. As those ahead fell into a web of calms cast by the South Atlantic High, Kirsten found them, sailing an extra 1,000 miles downwho had led the race from Day 1.
