Sailing hasn’t been a sport of the masses during Cole Brauer’s lifetime. In fact, there’s a full generation of young adults who grew up after the United States’ America’s Cup golden age, after the era when non-sailors and national media followed the sport. Solo ocean racing in particular has always been the purview of the French, and with a few notable exceptions rarely has showcased Americans, let alone as front runners gaining celebrity status.
So, it was a surprise to many of us when Cole’s Instagram account rocketed from 10,000 to nearly half a million followers over a handful of months in late 2023 and early 2024. She was competing in the Global Solo Challenge, a solo, nonstop, round-the-world race, and her daily updates quickly captured the attention of the masses. In less than six months, she went from relatively unknown to being featured in The New York Times, People magazine, and on The Today Show.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll mention that I have spent recent months working double duty as SAIL’s managing editor from 9-5 and as Cole’s media manager from 5-9 (Literally. Depending on where in the world she is and what hours of daylight that corresponds with, my work has rotated around the clock.)
But Cole didn’t set out to become a celebrity. She set out to prove a point. Her career as a professional sailor had seen the gamut from skepticism to outright dismissal. On smaller circuits, she found she was regularly paid less than her male counterparts, even when they were younger and less experienced than her. After
