Episode #193: Cole Brauer on Learning to Sail around the World — Part 2

Tune in this week for Part 2 of Cole Brauer’s story as she chats with host John Arndt about learning to sail around the world. During the Global Solo Challenge 2023-2024, Cole became the 1st woman from the US to race singlehanded around the world nonstop and unassisted, and also set a new around-the-world speed record for Class40.

Hear the life-changing story of her first offshore race, how she fell in love with sailing, the doors that open thanks to beer can racing, how to get yourself on more boats, and the best way to learn everything you need to know about sailing.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll hear in this episode:

• Why Cole believes you should NEVER follow a “regular” schedule when singlehanding
• Sailing is not solely a luxury activity
• What Cole is training for next
• How was the boat after 130 days of sailing?
• What does Cole truly fear?

Learn more about Cole on Instagram @ColeBrauerOceanRacing

 Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots — follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!

Check out the episode and show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

• Part 2: Cole Brauer on Learning to Sail around the World, with Host John Arndt
  • [0:17] Welcome to Good Jibes with Latitude 38
  • [0:45] Welcome aboard Cole Brauer – the first woman to complete a nonstop, unassisted circumnavigation of the globe!
  • [1:07] What fears did Cole have before the race?
  • [3:52] What Cole truly fears?
  • [7:20] The most common question Cole gets at corporate events
  • [9:40] How was the boat after 130 days of sailing?
  • [12:30] There needed to be more snacks!
  • [13:41] Cole’s advice for singlehanded sailors
  • [17:55] Preparation is the most important aspect of sailing
  • [19:00] How did Cole sleep during the race?
  • [23:22] Why you can’t always rely on your AIS alarms (Automatic Identification System)
  • [23:48] Are you thinking of sailing to Mexico or across the Pacific? Latitude 38 has a resource page called “Heading South” & the “First Timer’s Guide” to help you prepare 
  • Life after the Race
  • [25:17] What is next for Cole?
  • [27:27] The IMOCA 60 is a violent boat 
  • [29:05] How does Cole manage screen life and nature life?
  • [35:17] What is The Magenta Project?
  • [37:00] Why John estimates 75% of sailors sail for free
  • [39:48] Only a fraction of the sailing world is living in luxury
  • [42:26] Have you looked in our classy classifieds lately? Visit Latitude38.com 
  • Short Tacks
  • [43:10] What high end boat would Cole want to own?
  • [45:16] Is there a place Cole wants to sail again?
  • [47:16] Does Cole only sail to race?
  • [49:19] Cole’s favorite sailing books: Dove by Robin Lee Graham with Derek L.T. Gill, Taking on the World by Ellen MacArthur
  • [50:50] Cole’s last thoughts
  • [52:02] Follow Cole at @ColeBrauerOceanRacing on Instagram
  • Make sure to follow Good Jibes with Latitude 38 on your favorite podcast spot and leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts
  • Check out the May 2025 issue of Latitude 38 Sailing Magazine
  • Theme Song: “Pineapple Dream” by Solxis

Transcript:

Note: this transcript is not 100% accurate.

00:03

your preparation beforehand is almost more important than the race itself.

00:14

So welcome aboard everyone. My name is John Arndt. I’m the publisher of Latitude 38 and the host of today’s episode of Good Jibes, a podcast to help you experience the world of sailing through the eyes of the West Coast sailor. And each week we hear stories, tips from West Coast sailors on cruising racing, just plain sailing. And it’s brought to you by Latitude 38, the sailing magazine for West Coast sailors since 1977.

00:40

Today we have a special guest who’s started sailing west of the West Coast, and that is solo circumnavigator Cole Brauer. Welcome aboard, Cole. Thanks for having me. I’m super excited. Yeah, great to have you here. So I was wondering, just you sailed around the world, amazed everyone, and it made it look so much fun, really. So obviously we saw some hard times too, but a smiling picture around Cape Horn.

01:08

You made it look great.  But I was wondering about like the fears you had maybe before starting and the fears now, because I was you kind of almost did it again. You sailed first light to Australia with Elizabeth Tucker.  Did you have more or less fear about going out in the ocean now that you had seen it all? Or,  yeah, how did the fear and confidence kind  of and respect for the ocean, I’m sure, get you through all that? don’t think I really had  any fear.

01:37

I didn’t have any fear before the race. I was so excited to get off the dock. Oh my God. I could not wait.  I was like, get me off this.  I was ready a month before the start of the race.  Like I did my qualifier over to Spain and  it was a two week delivery.  Um, and it was super wild. had to like, uh, thread needles through hurricanes and stuff to try to get there. And,  and it was super great. And I loved every second of it. And I was like,

02:07

The boat’s ready. I’m ready. Like, let’s go. And I still had a month until the start  and  the boat was ready. And that’s probably the worst experience because you’re faffing  in a  random country  and you don’t speak the language  and your team is kind of like, well, what do we do? And I’m like, I don’t know.  So I wouldn’t say there was any fear before the race at all. I was so excited  starting the race.  No fear.

02:37

I don’t think I ever got any true fear until I finished the race. And that was probably the scariest, like the scariest moment in probably my entire life. Why is that? I had over the last like 10 years had been focusing on my career and on sailing and on like my goals and my lists and my things. And all of it was coming to a close. It was like it was like dying. You’re like

03:06

you’re watching everything finish  and you’re finishing at 29. Yeah.  That’s really scary. It’s like you’re finishing the dream that you’ve been spending so much time doing, but you’re doing it so young that there is  nothing at the end of it. There’s no other thing you’ve, this is all that you’ve ever worked for.

03:31

The journey was so fun. The campaign was so fun. Like just prepping the boat was so fun. The team was so fun. And now it’s like, it’s done.  It’s over.  It’s time to go home and do what? Like do what? You know, and that was  terrifying. That was terrifying. And everyone knew who I was, which is also terrifying because I like being alone.

03:58

Like, truly, like I didn’t just do it alone because, we’re just going to do it. No, no, like I, I am very good. Like I can, I can sit and drive up and down the East coast alone twice a year  and sing my songs  and it doesn’t bother me to do it. And I drive my 2000 miles up to Maine from Florida every year, twice a year. And it never bothers me, you know?  So  there is no, I don’t have any

04:28

fear  being  alone.  have the fear of all of a sudden, I’m not in nature anymore. Now I’m doing these corporate speaking events, which I  got no experience in and doing a lot of things.  had no  prior knowledge. had no mentors. had no, I didn’t know how to even like sign contracts. I didn’t know how to read contracts. I had to get a lawyer.  I had to get an agent.  Um,

04:57

and I was getting taken advantage of in all these different instances.  Nobody had gone through anything like this in the sailing world ever. So  it’s not like I could call up, you know, like Tracy Edwards and be like,  what did it feel like to have all these followers and these people that are stalking you?  What did it feel like to have people that knew you getting off airplanes and  in airport bathrooms  and

05:26

people that are trying to steal your name off social media and use your name for money.  that was the craziest, the biggest fearful was that  nobody had gone through it before. So my agent even was like, Oh, do you have anyone to talk to about this stuff? And I was like,  no,  like,  yeah, it’s well, that’s  you came home to a different world than the one you left for sure.  Oh, I wanted to put my head in the sand.

05:54

and disappear.  And that’s why I sailed to Australia because  I  needed to sell the boat anyway.  And it made perfect sense for me just to disappear back off into my safety zone. And my safety zone is nature.  It really is. It’s the only place  that I don’t feel like someone’s trying to kill me.  I don’t trust humans. I’ve never trusted humans. I have a totally rational fear of manmade objects underwater.  If you have a rope,

06:24

And then the rope goes underwater. I can’t get near it. Like it’s just this,  I don’t like human manmade things ever.  And that’s been a thing since I was a kid. And so coming back to  reality,  everyone was like, Oh, you must be so excited to get off the boat. I was like,  no, like the boat is my, my zone, my, my  like cone of safety.  And now you’re ripping me out of the womb.

06:51

and throwing me into this planet that I don’t trust. Like, it’s  scary.  Well, yeah, it’s funny that having talked to and talking to lots of sailors about these things.  mean, so many people even just go day sailing on the bay. It’s a relief, right? Like  step off the land and get onto a boat. It’s like, ah, nice.  And it’s really an experience so many people don’t quite get. It’s it’s and of course,

07:18

Love seeing all the organizations that are trying to give people that experience. And you’re describing it obviously perfectly. It’s like the land is crazy. The ocean is beautiful. The ocean is predictable. It’s understandable. Like I get it. Yeah. When I go to these corporate speaking events and I talk about the ocean, there’s a lot of people that have been landlocked their entire lives, never been on a boat. They don’t swim and they come up to me and they are so…

07:45

How are you not afraid this, you know, it’s so terrifying.  I’m like, but if you  actually look at nature,  nature  would be doing exactly the same thing it will be doing with or without us on the ocean.  And once you get that in your mindset, you don’t believe that it’s out to get you. Right. Like, you don’t know that what that human in that car is going to do when you’re walking across the street. Right. Yeah.

08:15

But you can understand that that storm has a path and it’s taking that path. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, no, that’s the thing. And it keeps you so occupied. Your brain really can’t think about the world’s worries. You got to think about it close to the end of your fingertips.  What’s important right here right now? And that’s, think, one of the beauties of sailing as well.  Yeah, it’s very present. Like I just went to yoga with my mom  and  I have such a hard time shutting my brain off, like doing these

08:45

things that we’ve been told will help like yoga  or going for a jog or, you know, all these things that, you know, people or your therapist tells you to do. None of that works.  It just doesn’t. But what does is going out into the ocean and watching the clouds go by. Yeah. Yeah. That shuts  off  all of the things that are in my brain and I can only focus on that. It’s beautiful. Yeah. I’d love to hear it. And of course that yoga class is what

09:15

got you connected with Booth Bay Sailing Instruction. I  know. You never really know,  honestly, who you’re going  to meet. Yeah,  no, that’s right. So,  you just sold your baby  first light. I’m sure that was tough to say goodbye to, but also fun to show Elizabeth the boat.  And  I’m sure she’s thrilled to have your experience. But anything you changed after the race before sailing to  Australia on the boat? I mean, how was the boat as far as

09:44

after 130 days of sailing and  were there things you wished you’d had or boat was pretty locked in? It was super locked in. I had worked really hard with a bunch of like with my rigor with gorilla rigging and then with North sails. had the sails pretty much when I, we had gotten sails before that were just coastal sails and I had already put like a hole in the, one of the battens  from like rubbing against the shrouds  like within

10:14

two weeks and I was like, guys, like I talked to North  and pretty much told them, I need indestructible sales. need whatever is  the best of the best of the best of ocean sales. They need to be bulletproof. I don’t care what we got to do. They have to be bulletproof. And North was like, cool, we’ve got these. Like we got it for you. And same with my rigor. My rigor and I worked  really closely together.

10:41

And so I had spares on spares on spares on spares. I knew exactly how to fix everything  we had spent. We only had three months to get the boat from a coastal racer to an around the world racer. We had far less time than most people would ever have for an ocean race campaign. I really think that we hired the correct people and that was the most important thing that we did. And because of that, when the boat got sold, we had

11:09

So many spares. mean, I had my marine electrician fly out to Spain with me and I had him adapt  the electronics even deeper for Elizabeth and I.  And we took what we had learned from, because he had never even used a lot of these systems.  There were so many things on the boat that we were testing. Around the world.  Around the world.  And everything worked.

11:38

I mean, there were some things that didn’t work, but we fixed them and we worked through them and whatnot, but we were trying new things and we were adapting things. So when we got to selling the boat, was kind of like, all we got to do is really get the boat into tip-top shape, make sure the rig is perfect, and then put in the spares that we already had and then hope for the best. yeah, the sales.

12:06

had gone, you know, now one and a half times around the planet. I think we ripped  one sale on the delivery to Australia, but I never  harmed any of the sales  on around the world. And so the sales were really strong. The rigging held up. The only thing that I did change was that I added a lot more snacks.  I think that was the only thing that I actually

12:36

truly, truly changed about the boat was that I added a thousand percent more snacks because I don’t know what I was thinking before the start of the race. I bought enough snacks maybe for like a two week delivery for an around the world race and then got four months in and went, oh my God, I would kill for a gummy bear. know, like I would. So this time around, I brought

13:05

endless, like Pringles and sodas and, you know,  all the fun, delicious  junk food that you could imagine. And that was pretty much the only thing I changed, which is kind of superficial compared to like what I.  I mean, you could have changed a thousand things, but I wouldn’t know if the boat was in really good shape.  That’s well, that’s the right thing to have. You can survive without snacks, but you can’t survive with a mast in the water or all the other important.

13:34

Yeah, that’s for sure. Well, it’s funny that because you kind of went to where a question or thought I had this summer, we have the single handed Transpac taking off and 14 boats, I think, signed up. You when you tell non sailors, people are sailing solo to Hawaii and most of these boats are 30 feet. They’re not, you boats. You tell non sailors that and they think they’re crazy. But and what you did even crazier. But.

14:00

Any advice for them as a single hand sailor before they leave on the Transpac? Snacks I can hear is one. would say as a nutrition person though,  what’s your go-to health things for single-handed sailors or?  Oh, that’s a good one.  Okay, I would definitely say I love these. They’re called organic gummy bears.  I love them because they’re like super quick, easy sugar. Like if you’re about to do

14:30

a sale change or anything, you need to make sure that you’re ready to go. What happens a lot of times in sale changes is that you’re, you’re like, Oh, I have to do this thing right this minute. That’s not true. Like plan out your sale changes, plan out your food, plan out like when you’re going to sleep and, and then execute properly. Like don’t rush  anything ever. Like if you rush, you’re going to overstep, you’re going to do a problem. You’re going to

14:57

put the sale up backwards. You’re gonna, you know, like take your  absolute time. Like  I just sailed in England  on this team and the whole time they were like rushing around to do all these different sale changes. Oh, we gotta pack this. We gotta do this.  And the whole time I was like, guys, we are wasting energy,  so much  energy to do  nothing, to do absolutely  nothing and just look so unprofessional. Like just.

15:27

take a deep breath, plan out. I’m gonna eat here  because I’ve got a weather system happening. And so I’m gonna eat here. I’m gonna take a nap. Then I’m gonna do my sale change. I’m gonna shrink my sale. And then that system’s gonna hit me in 30 minutes or whatever afterwards. And then, okay, now I’m  in the system. I’ve got to eat. I’ve got to drink lots of water. I’ve got to take my electrolytes. I’ve got to get myself ready to go. I’m gonna take my nap and then, okay, system’s done. Get the sales back up.

15:56

Just everything is systematic and make it like systematic. Make it like that you can’t fuck it up even if you’re tired. That’s the most important part because when you’re tired, you’re gonna make mistakes. Like write a list, right? Okay, did I eat today? How many calories have I eaten today? Okay, I didn’t eat enough today. So when I try to do that sale change, I’m gonna be tired. Unless you might drop to 97 or 96 pounds. Yeah.

16:24

Like  I, I definitely encourage people to be very systematic and don’t panic. Like if you can see a competitor on the horizon, like don’t be like, Oh, I got to do six different sale changes because when you’re solo, you are wasting time doing sale changes. Like if you have to take a sale down, right. It takes time. Make sure that you’re making the right decisions on your sale changes. The same way that you’re making the right decision of

16:54

you know, what, what spares are you bringing on board and make sure you bring more spares  because if you all of a sudden break something and you’re solo, that’s so much harder than if you have another companion to be able to hold the tiller while you’re working. so  that like, think about, okay, if this breaks  and all of a sudden I can’t be driving, can I make a jig to be able to drive for me like a bungee system, even if it’s not perfect?

17:24

perfect. As long as it can drive in a semi straight line with shrink sails while I’m fixing something, that’s great. And be able to think of that and do that in your garage right now. And just have it in like a labeled bag ready to go. You know exactly where it is. It’s stowed away. And then when it’s ready to go, you’re like, okay, done. I already know how to hook it up. your

17:50

preparation beforehand is almost more important than the race itself. Yeah. Yeah. No, think that successful racers will tell you that half the race is one before you leave the dock or before you even leave the dock. And it doesn’t matter. It does not matter how expensive your program is. It’s all prep. It doesn’t matter if it’s a million dollar program or it’s a $5,000 program. It doesn’t matter. It’s all about the prep beforehand. And you can, I mean,

18:18

I live out of my van  for very, very cheap.  I have almost no expenses.  And when things go wrong, I’m still in the auto parts parking lot with random tools that I have fixing things. it doesn’t matter if you’re poor or rich, preparation is the most important part, for sure.  You’re echoing, Stan Honey said that on our same podcast a while ago. That’s the, it’s before you leave the dock. that’s, yeah, that’s.

18:47

And that’s a good lesson for life, I’m sure, too. Yeah.  What about another thing for single sailors sleep? What was your sleep routine?  Did you were you a cat nap 20 minutes and wake 20 minutes or four hour? What was your and what would you recommend?  So we changed it changed  drastically depending on competition, whether  in different oceans.  So definitely different oceans. You sleep different.

19:14

differently. And when you’re  east really fast,  you also have really weird sleeping patterns that happen because you’re losing an hour like every, you know, two days. So it’s  your your body gets a little messed up. But when you’re sailing in the Atlanta, especially when I was starting the race,  I was doing probably an hour nap, wake up, check things and then back down immediately.

19:44

Like I didn’t  stay around to kind of mess around or, know, oh, my mind’s running. No, back down, got to get to your sleep because your competitors are probably not sleeping. If you’re not sleeping, that means in about four days, you’re going to beat them.  It really doesn’t take that long to beat someone on your own nutrition. It really doesn’t.  And if you can have that in your mind, like get your sleep in early,

20:13

be healthy, eat your food, take your electrolytes, and then within four days, whoever hasn’t been sleeping, you’re gonna win that race. Like that’s pretty much how I won the Bermuda one too.  Well rested and well prepared.  Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, everyone else didn’t sleep for three days and I was like, I was sleeping and I was enjoying the sleep and then I’d wake up and when I was up, I was working on the boat.

20:42

doing my maintenance schedules, you know, and making sure that I was keeping up with everything. So it is, it’s super important to get your sleep.  Don’t follow my biggest advice. Do not follow a regular schedule for like what you would do, like a four on four off. Never, never, please don’t do that. Like you’re, no, don’t do that. That’s the most unhealthy thing. Don’t do it.  Follow what your body needs.

21:12

really start to listen to what your body needs. If your body feels like, I just need 30 minutes. Then you need 30 minutes. If your body feels like I really need an hour, like I’m dying here. Like I would just go down below. And even if I couldn’t shut my mind off, just closing your eyes and laying down and relaxing, even if it wasn’t for sleeping, just  shutting everything down, you wake up or like come to, and you’re more rested, even though you didn’t actually like shut.

21:41

everything down. Like  listen to what your body needs. Do not listen to what anyone else needs. So I can’t really tell you how to sleep. That’s really hard to do because it really needs to be on your own schedule. Like I had a guy I sailed with double-handed once and he was very like, oh no, I follow what Alex Thompson does and he sleeps for 30 minutes and then he’s up for four hours and sleeps for 30 minutes. Within two days, my crew

22:10

was passed out for like hours, like couldn’t survive, was delusional, hallucinating. And I was like, because he wasn’t following what his body actually needed. He was following what this random dude in England had told him to do.  Well, that’s good. So yeah, nobody’s going to be following your advice except to be following it to be flexible and listen to their body.  Yeah. Listen to what, what does your brain need? What does your body need?

22:38

set your  alarms for and find out what it is. It’s going to take time to find it. Mine was like an hour here,  an hour there, an hour here, an hour there. So you really need to find it out on your  own schedule when you’re not racing. If you’re not racing,  just go on a delivery or something and find out exactly and set your AIS alarms. Please set your AIS alarms loudly.

23:06

They are very important.  Alex Thompson, he was the guy I think he did the route to rum was winning the route to rum and he ran into the finish line island, right? He he actually  because his alarm didn’t go off because his alarm  because his body for me like my my body wakes me up and like in this time because I’m not exhausted. And that’s really important is like if you can’t always rely on your alarms clearly he had an electric shock alarm.

23:35

And that thing didn’t even wake him up. that’s extreme exhaustion. Yeah. Well, it does look exhausting, but you manage the sleep too. that’s Latitude 38 here. Are you thinking of sailing to Mexico or all the way across the Pacific or maybe even further? We just heard from Joanna and Cliff saying my husband and I subscribe to latitude 38 and enjoy the good jibes podcast regularly.

24:05

They went on to say they’re headed to Mexico in the fall and will continue across the Pacific to Australia.  However, they’re looking to simplify all the choices  they need to make to prepare.  Of course, there’s tons of resources out there, but Latitude 38 does have a page in our website called Heading South.  And we also have Latitude 38’s First Timers Guide to Mexico  available to read online on the Heading South page  or a printed copy  that is available to purchase in our online store. There’s a lot to know.

24:34

Latitude38.com is a good place to start. Now, the year since the race, you’ve become Rolex Yachts Woman of the Year. You’ve got the Cruising Club of America, Young Voyager Award.  I think you’re signed up with Team Militia  and Boris Herman and working with the Magenta Project as well. that right? So maybe  lots of things have not been in idle year.  So what do you do? Well, and

25:03

the what next question you just said, you arrived home in Spain and we’re like, what next? But obviously you’ve in the short term figured that out  with a lot of things.  But also  the Vondé Globe, is that that’s on the  wish list or what’s your, what’s that?  Yeah, I’ve gone back and forth a lot with it. think talking to Boris has been, he’s been a great mentor. Like the Vondé is not his favorite event. Like he loves the ocean race.

25:32

The ocean race has always been a dream of mine. so the plan is a crew race. I mean, with crew as opposed to solo. With crew. That was always a dream of mine. And so to do the Ocean Race Europe, which is the plan with Militsia this year, and then we’ve talked about doing the ocean race in 2027. And then I’ve kind of been very open and honest with Boris. We talked almost every day when he was doing his Fonde and I was going to Australia. Wow.

26:01

and  being able to discuss with him, hey, maybe I don’t want to do the Vondé, maybe I want to just do the Ocean Race and then  go into something else like records with, you know, trimerands or maybe I want to quit sailing. Maybe I  want to just focus on a family one day, you know, like there and he was so  open and like, yeah, you can do whatever you want. Like there is no like you’ve done the dream.

26:29

You’ve already done it. Like, you’ve completed your big main event in your life that at this point you could quit  and just go have a family in the mountains somewhere, you know,  and that’s totally fine. having him as a mentor has actually been really great because there is no stress. There’s no like,  like he’s not pushing me to be like, oh, you must be here to do this, to do that. He’s like,

26:59

Come as you want, when you want, you know, we get together and we go sailing. Yeah, that’s great. mean, and he’s got an incredible boat. Must be fun to sail. Yeah, it’s a little violent. It’s a lot more violent than my class 40, that’s for sure. it’s a… What do you mean by violent? Or what’s the violent? Oh, God, they’re such violent boats. The Amoaka 60s are horrific.

27:28

I mean, they’re really cool boats. Yeah. Yeah. But they’re foil assisted. They’re not full foiling. And so they, you know, a of pounding, lot of pounding. Boris and I have discussed like how to make the boats more comfortable, how to make them more human. It’s a really tricky boat. And a lot of the boats in the fleet, you can see why people come back from the Vendee and look like they age 10 years. Yeah. Because the vibration, I mean, the boats are

27:57

can be incredibly brutal. And so that’s the one thing that Boris and I have had like big discussions about is like, is this really something that I want to focus on or do I want to bypass the mocha and go into the foiling trimarans? You know, do I want to go into something that’s maybe full foiling, that’s a lot more comfortable,  a lot more fun, you know, like what, and that is my trial period for the next six months. So I’m,  I’m with Melissa for the next six months. I leave in.

28:27

four days to head out there and then I’ll be training on the Amoka 60 and find out is this really where I want to put all my eggs in the basket  or  is this boat too brutal and there are just better more fun boats out there.  There’s a lot of different boats to tie sail and you find one that suits yourself is a good thing to do.  Exactly, exactly.

28:53

So I also love, I love hearing your sort of appreciation  for nature and how it soothes the soul and, and,  know, just such a beautiful place.  And I think a lot of what I think about, I have two daughters, your age,  that  inspired by the type of thing you do. They love the outdoors as well, which I love. Oh,  that’s great.  As a society, we’re thinking less screen time, more outdoor time,  but you transmit this wonderful story through Instagram, which is screen time.

29:22

And you know, so much of us want to show sailing to the world, but we really don’t want spectators. We want participants like people who not just watch us,  but join in and do it. And so I’m wondering how your  screen life and your nature life and  I think you’ve done an incredible job bringing attention and opportunity for people.  But  how do you sort of see the screens as being an opportunity to get people off the couch and screen and onto a boat?  So the social media before

29:51

Before I really got into the social media, I was not really into it. I mean, I’m not, like when I’m not selling, I don’t post that much.  It’s not really my thing. Well, not your thing. You are an amazing Instagram person. It’s maybe not your thing to watch, but you did an incredible job. Thank you.  No, it was really, I think it goes back to, have an, like an artist background and I think that it,

30:18

was one of those fun things that I could be creative with.  And I loved editing the videos  and  that was super fun, like putting the music to it.  Finding the music, gave me like a purpose because there’s a lot of time in the day when you’re sailing around the world alone  and giving you some like a hobby almost to do. I think that’s why it was so fun for me. Because it was something that was  like

30:46

I mean, I could sit there and read a hundred books  or  I could make art. And that was pretty much what it was. It was making art. And I wanted to show the world what it was like, because I wanted people to be able to appreciate, like we have  all these political discussions about  climate change is not real and this isn’t happening and rah rah rah rah rah rah. But then they never leave their little cubicle.  So I’m like, I don’t trust anything you’re saying when you’re not out there.

31:15

Right. So and that’s how if that’s how I feel,  then  what if I was to show people  this beautiful, amazing planet that is not out to get us? It is not out to hurt us like we are hurting it. Yeah. And like we are  we are the emotional, abusive, you know, husband to our planet. Like  it is not emotionally abusing us and  showing

31:45

people like, hey, maybe if looked outside and looked at the clouds every once in a while, it would tell you  what’s going on and tell you how it’s feeling.  And  I think people really appreciated that, that I wasn’t out there to just lecture and  shove things down people’s throats. I was just there. Here it is. You, if you want to participate, if you want to follow, if you want to watch, that’s up to you, but I’m not going to force you into it. And people,

32:15

loved it. I think they loved it because it was a choice. It was a choice to participate in the planet and  watch this beautiful world around them and then  encourage them to go outside and see it for themselves.  You know, we didn’t really know where the social media was going to go.  I think when I first started, I had like 2300

32:38

hundred followers, which I had had since when did I get Instagram first? 2013. like it had been high school. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like it would have not been. I remember the first like when we first got like 10,000 followers and I was like, that’s so cool. Like we’re going to have 10,000 followers for like the whole race. And like I got to the Southern ocean and we already had like 200,000 and I was.

33:05

What’s going  on? Yeah, like I didn’t really know what was going on.  And because I didn’t have any, you know, media background,  it didn’t really feel  real. Like you don’t really understand you to see the number growing, but you’re not actually like participating. And I  realized after listening to people’s stories  of how they found me on Instagram and then what they took from the actual Instagrams.

33:32

Because some people would be like, oh, I don’t like your music or I don’t like this or blah, blah, blah, blah. And I’d like, you don’t have to, but I’m going to keep posting whatever I want to post. Like I don’t really care what anyone else thinks about it. Like I’m the one that’s editing it. And it’s me just having a good time making the videos. Like I didn’t even have to post them at all, but I did enjoy posting them.

33:59

Like I enjoyed making them and the process of making them and having that creative direction. Or you wake up in the morning and you’re like, okay, this is the shot I want to get. And I want to get this shot and I’m to edit it. I, oh, that song’s been stuck in my head. I’m going to put that song together and then like edit them together. Like it was fun. And that’s the point of social media is it’s supposed to be fun. Yeah.

34:21

Yeah, well, that’s a that’s not something I figured out how to accomplish myself. It’s beyond me. But I think you could. All you got to do is you just put your camera out  and you just let the camera run. And then you like that video could be like three minutes long of you doing something random like brushing your teeth. Yeah. you just edit it to cool music and you post it. And people like that. I know it sounds super weird and trivial, but people like to watch other people.

34:50

Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely. know obviously you’re into it. And well, and it was a really, of course, amazing thing. I don’t know if I want to watch somebody eat breakfast at home, but  watching somebody sail solo around the world  and  the highs and lows, which you shared so well, were really  terrific. The other project, I want to check, the Magenta project, just a minute on them, because that’s another very cool  project. I wanted to hear what you’re doing with them and what their goals are.

35:17

I’m on the board with Magenta Project. They asked me to be on the board late last year.  And I was  truly honored to be on the board with them because they really  are,  they’re not just trying  to  improve women  in  the industry, but they actually are doing it. And that’s super, super important is the action.  It’s not just like,

35:44

Oh, I want to put women on my boat and then like never put a woman on like your boat ever.  They’re like actually like taking women and putting them into the world of sailing and women are able to actually like have jobs. Then that’s the important part is that if you can actually get paid to be in this world, then you get more participation.

36:12

The guys are getting paid, so why can’t the women get paid?  And that is pretty much how my role is in it is  I am just an advisory role.  There are a lot  more influential women in the Magenta Project that are doing a lot more things. And my entire role is they ask me what my opinion is on things.  And I am very honest.  I can tell.  can tell. We know that about you, now because you’re a public personality now. The privacy is harder to find.

36:41

But we appreciate you coming out in public here again with us. Wow. So that’s fantastic for it to hear that. Of course, the Magenta project, there’s so many great programs and people doing things to help new people get into sailing. And it’s also one of those things you get paid now to be a sailor. Lots of people think sailing is so expensive. But my guess is that three quarters of the world either sail for free because they’re a crew.

37:11

or they get paid,  the only people really paying are the boat owners.  Yeah. Yeah. A lot of sailing for free and or even get paid.  Well, I find there’s so many different like  really  sailing is one of those sports that you can do where, OK, maybe you don’t have enough money, but you have a boat. Then you can have your friends come sailing with you. You can still improve. You can still get better. And then if you really want to go into the professional world, there are fantastic pro sailors that will

37:40

will actually train you.  And that is,  I think that they make their  mark  so much further than most people give them credit for. Like, there’s a lot of people that hate on pro sailors  and it’s because,  well, they’re beating them on the race course.  And they’re jealous they’re sailing for free and not getting paid. Yeah, exactly.  But I truly believe that like, I have a lot of friends in the pro world  and

38:07

They are fantastic, like really, really fantastic sailors. And  I truly, truly believe that pro sailors are changing the industry for the better. And I know that’s super comfort, like, like the New York Yacht Club would not love me saying that, but,  um, I truly believe that they’re doing a lot of really good and they’re helping out to push the sport and push these people to be like,

38:34

Okay, let’s learn what the best tactic is here. And they know the rule book and they definitely are like top of the line humans  and they  treat  everyone around them very well. I mean, I know the industry very well, the professional industry and there’s a very strong etiquette. And if you’re not part of it, you get fired.  That’s  great. Yeah.

39:00

I mean, I think that’s one of the things that kept me with latitude in all this life.  Sailing community is an amazing community. The professional sailors teach so many people want to share sailing and it’s really  adventurous, cool people. think sometimes what sailing does wrong is market luxury  instead of adventure.  market sailing as a luxury activity, which that seems just an oxymoron to me, it, it’s really the That’s how it started.

39:27

Yeah, and it’s not, you know, it’s not what you’re doing. mean, it’s really the,  you know, the aligning with nature, working with nature and getting out there. Yeah. I mean, if you cover it with luxury, it kind of gets boring. Yeah. I think that you can do it in so many different ways. I mean, I’ve worked on, I’ve worked on so many really beautiful yachts that are  absolutely fantastic, that are  millions and millions and millions and millions of dollars, you know, and we spend the whole time just, you know, fluffing and buffing and making sure it’s perfect.

39:55

That’s a part of the industry that I definitely,  think that you can, you you can hate on all parts of the industry and I don’t hate on that industry. I think that it’s just part of, it’s part of the sailing world and that’s, it’s  those beautiful, beautiful boats. I will never be able to afford it ever. It will never, like,  it wasn’t only fans, so I don’t have any money.  So I don’t, I have no  perception of like,

40:22

the cost of those things. I mean, you if you want to go and do the bucket in St. Barts and pay $70 a drink  and  no judgment, like  I’ll be there if you pay for me to be there.  That sounds amazing. sounds amazing. Yeah, it sounds amazing.  Or if you want to just go out and cruise like my sister’s got like a little day sailor out here and we take the dogs  and you know, it it like broke off the mooring and

40:51

hit one of the rocks out here and it’s still okay. You know, and it’s still fine, you know, because it’s a day sailor, you know, those things are indestructible. The sails are like plastic bags.  And, and so you can do, I mean, I have, I have no judgment over any part of this industry, whether or not you’re a pro sailor, you’re an amateur or you want to be a pro sailor or you hate pro sailors or you love the industry or you hate it. You know, for me, I’ve been in  every  walk

41:20

of it. I have lived in the parking lots.  I have worked on the mega yachts.  I and I love it all honestly. And I  it doesn’t matter if one day I just be a boat captain on one of those beautiful yachts in St. Barts  or if I’m a pro sailor, you know on a foiling trimaran going around the world. For me,  the industry  is so widespread  and you can really find your niche in any part of it, honestly.

41:49

That’s great. that’s and the the people looking for help in the industry would love to hear that because a lot of people that are looking for that right person to work in a boat yard or sail loft or on a boat. know. I mean, I love boat yards. Oh, my God. That’s like my that’s another place. I always feel, you know, people are those are great people, honestly. Yeah, really great community.

42:15

Hey good Jibes listeners and Latitude 38 readers. Have you looked in our classy classifieds lately?  It would be impossible for us to know how many boats have sold to new owners over the last 45 plus years  of publishing Latitude 38.  But we’re sure they have helped countless people realize their sailing dreams. Every month there are new boats listed that will fill someone’s sailing adventures.  If you have a boat you want to sell or looking for that next boat in your life, the pages of Latitude 38 will surely have something to suit your fancy.

42:45

Pick up a magazine at a local marine business  or visit our classy classified pages at latitude38.com to find boats, gear, job opportunities and more.  Then tell us your next sailing story. Well, let’s see, I’m to go shift to some short taxing quick questions. This has been amazing.  But with all this experience on all these different kinds of boat, is there a boat you dream of that maybe you could afford? Like if you were to buy a boat,  what would you own?

43:13

Oh, God. No sense to you as a paid crew. Why? know. I don’t know if I would own a boat.  I’m not a sailor. It’s what that’s saying. Other people boats.  Oh,  P.B. like  you just work on other people boats. I think I would own one of those like really gorgeous, small, like wooden yachts that’s like all varnished and beautiful teak and like.

43:38

you I’d live aboard it  or I’d even go the complete opposite direction and I would be like on one of the ranger tugs  like the nortic tugs. Yeah. And I would take I would go the intercoastal and spend the summers like going down the intercoastal like or going up the intercoastal and then I’d go hang out like in Newport and I go visit friends in Nantucket and I just put put at like a maximum of 10 knots.  Yeah. That sounds

44:07

really lovely. I’d like learn how to wing and I could wing like right off the back of the Nordic tie. I think I would probably go  go,  you know, in the cruising way.  I mean, cruisers, they do it. They do it right. Honestly,  they know how to, you know, or I get a catamaran like one of those like an ultramirror like one of those, you know, and I would go to the Caribbean and just

44:32

park on a mooring somewhere and go swimming every day.  mean,  I’m like, I’m pretty easy to be completely honest.  Well, that’s the beauty of sailing too. There’s so many ways to do it. You know, there’s people racing thistles on a lake in Ohio, you know, and there’s  people on a boat in the Caribbean or going around the world. So,  yeah. I think you can do it in any way  and I would love  all of it, honestly. Like as long as it’s outside and it’s on the water,  I’m very content.

45:02

Yeah, no, that’s well, I’d say likewise. Yeah. How about you’ve sailed around the world now, sailed a lot of stuff. Is there a place you want to go sail that you haven’t sailed? Oh, that I haven’t been. Yeah, I would go back to actually I’d go back to Sardinia to be completely honest. I loved loved Sardinia. I sailed the Meldes 24 worlds there in 2019. And that is like the

45:31

cleanest,  clearest water. You’re not even allowed to clean the boats.  Oh, really? Yeah, like you can see all the way to the bottom.  mean that. Oh my God, like Villa Semillas in Sardinia is hands down. I think one of the most beautiful places in the planet. I think yeah, I think the med I’ve spent. I think I’ve sailed in the med  four or five times  and.

45:59

Yeah, I would definitely spend more time in the Med if I could because that the water is just so clear and so warm and oh, it’s like. Yeah, well, of course, one of the most popular sailing venues in world now is the Croatian  Charter World is just  over the last decade. And I know I looked at Charter of Boat this last March, actually funny enough, and they were all booked and I really.

46:26

Yeah, because I was gonna go with like a couple friends and we were all gonna pitch in and  like do a catamaran or something like that. I don’t know.  yeah, like that sounds  so fun and so  beautiful. And yeah, yeah, I’m still a sucker for these things. You know, like I would still like even as like an ocean racer, I still want to like charter about somewhere with a bunch of friends and just like, you know,

46:53

Cook every meal together and go swimming and  yeah,  that’s  amazing.  Yeah. Well, I’m always curious to have people who, because you’re obviously very competitive.  I mean, you want to win races  and  some racers don’t like to cruise, but you just like being on the water.  Yeah. I mean, I, yeah, I like nature.  it’s.

47:17

I have no issues finding races to race, honestly. That is not a problem.  I have issues finding time to actually enjoy the places that I get to travel to. And so I think I go almost the opposite side of the spectrum where all I do is race.  Sometimes I just really want to hang out and watch the clouds go by somewhere with a cocktail in my hand.  Sounds great.  I know, doesn’t it?

47:42

I took some work associates out of my boat on the bay a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful day, quiet morning, and they’re one of the, a few of the seven million people in the Bay Area who don’t get on the bay, right? mean,  which drives me crazy. But  we saw two gray whales out there, one spouted  60 feet off of  our stern.  And it was so glorious. And they were all amazed. They live here and don’t, you know, this was almost a first experience for all of them that.

48:11

This is right here where we live.  You know, that’s the craziest thing. it’s amazing. And most people never get to experience this.  And I think that’s like,  oh,  that’s so sad for me because  I love it. And I think that everyone should get to experience it. Yeah. Well, I think  you’ve developed a following that’s going to  work their way towards that because it certainly you make it look so attractive, beautiful.  The dolphins, the sunsets,  know, it’s amazing.

48:40

Yeah, oh God, the sunset. So I try to watch the sunrise and sunset every single day. That’s my goal ever since I’ve been on land because I did that offshore.  And when I came back to land, I felt very landlocked, even though I was like on the water, but I was on land.  And so if I watch the sunrise and sunset that  mentally that helps me just like ground myself, honestly. Yeah, yeah, great.

49:06

Great. Well, let’s see. Last question. Just  we like to find out maybe sailing themed books you like.  Oh, God, so many. many.  that was a great or two that were great inspirations to you or education.  One of my favorite ones is Dove.  I  love  Dove. I love that book so  much.  That book. Yeah. That book changed my life forever because he was a solo sailor.

49:35

but he did it in a way where he really got to appreciate the culture of every place he got to go and doing it so young. yeah, that was such a, that’s such a magical book. I recommend it to everyone. I’ve read it like four, four or five times. The other book that I loved was Ellen MacArthur’s Taking on the World. That one was a huge influence on me. I’ve read that one twice or three times. That was a great book because

50:04

She’s  a huge role model for me. Yeah. Yeah.  We’re the same size. Yeah.  And she  got second at the Vondée, almost won it at 24 years old. mean,  how can you get any better than that? Honestly? Yeah. No, she’s amazing. She’s another incredible role model. And I have not read that book. That is one that’s been on my list. So I’ve got to get that one. You’ve got to do it. You can.  I mean, they have it in audiobook too. It’s really, really good. I recommend it.

50:34

No, she’s amazing. that was,  yeah. So great. Well, Cole, and just to remind everybody who’s not seeing this, Cole is not a boy. Nope. Girl. Nope,  still girl. But she’s rocked around the world  and  done incredible stuff. So just last question, anything  you want to say or I should have asked that you’d like to share with our Latitude 38  audience?  No, I’m just, I’m so excited. This is a great conversation. I’m glad we got to do it.

51:02

Yeah, no, great to have you on the show. Great to have some thoughts for the single handed sailors taking off.  I’m so excited for them. I’m jealous.  I’m totally jealous.  Yeah,  yeah, no, we’ve got a great single handed sailing society here that creates a lot of great events and ways to learn and the Transpac as well. Single handed Transpac. So yeah,  oh, so jealous. was always that race was always a dream of mine.

51:29

Oh my God, I’m so jealous. One day, one day I’ll get A lot of these people are quite a bit older than you and they’re still doing it. So you’ve got plenty of time to fit that in your schedule. Oh yeah, it’s on the list. Don’t worry. That one’s on the dream list for sure. We’ve done it. all right, well Cole, fantastic. And I do want to remind everybody they can follow you at Cole Brower Ocean Racing on Instagram, right? And that’s a great way to

51:58

Continue daily inspiration from all your video Uploads. It’s it’s really a terrific source of inspiration for everybody and Are you going sailing this summer? What’s this summer about? The summer is the ocean race Europe in France And the Admiral’s Cup. Oh, wow. Cool. Yeah, so I’m doing two different events So one on the car Kate 40 and one on the amok a 60 so I am Yeah, I there’s

52:27

Plenty of racing. Yeah. right. Plenty of racing this summer.  We’ll keep on your Instagram and try and  keep in touch with it also. Fantastic. Yeah. Oh, and I fly. I’m actually going to come back for Block Island Race Week, which is one of my favorite events. So  I get to actually come back to the US and do an event this summer, which I’m so stoked about. Yeah. Great. I’m jealous. I’m jealous. Sounds  like I get my sailing in.  So yeah, I’m sure. I’m sure.

52:54

Yeah. Oh, great. Well, all right. Well, Cole, thanks so much. And for all of our listeners, if you want to stay tuned in to Latitude38.com, you can find all our Good Jibes podcasts and give us a review or a thumbs up. Subscribe to our podcast or any of our newsletters. We’d love to have everybody on the West Coast, find a way to the water and find a way to sail. thank you for again, Cole, for coming aboard. Thank you. Awesome!