South Africa's Neuschäfer sails to Golden Globe glory after epic race and rescue

After 233 days at sea, Kirsten Neuschäfer was unaware she was about to bring Freedom Day glory to South Africa.

Neuschäfer, on Minnehaha, took line honours in the Golden Globe solo non-stop around the world yacht race in Les Sables d'Olonne, France, and the significance of the date on which she crossed the line only dawned on her afterwards.

In a race in which competitors are not allowed outside assistance and use equipment from 1968 and older, the sun and stars are their navigational aids.

Neuschäfer was unaware she held the race lead until close to the finish.

“I was expecting the worst, but hoping for the best,” she said after her remarkable show of endurance and perseverance on Friday.

“I knew we'd be close and I had a few hours of calm where I wasn't sure whether he (Abhilash Tomy on Bayanat) was ahead of me. I assumed he was ahead, so I did not arrive disappointed.

“When I was seven miles (11.2km) away from Les Sables d'Olonne, the first (welcoming) boat arrived to say hello. They said, 'You're first'. Wow! That was the moment I knew,” said Neuschäfer while addressing the media on Friday.

Apart from arriving back in France first, Neuschäfer had the benefit of a time credit for steering off course to the aid of Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen, whose yacht had sunk in the southern Indian Ocean.

The 39-year-old, who started the race on September 4, calmly recounted her rescue mission.

“I got the message Tapio's boat had sunk. I knew I would be close. I called race control. I went into the mode, 'get to him as quickly as possible', and stayed at the helm all night.

“I never did something like this before. It is amazing how difficult it is to spot a life raft at sea, in the waves.”

She admits she had good fortune, with decent weather and little by way of catastrophic unknown circumstances, but argues the virtues of sound preparation.

“Eighty percent of the race is in the preparation to the start line. Getting to the start is the most difficult step.”

Not that her race was sans inner trauma.

“Fortunately I love swimming and that kept me sane. When I got too frustrated I'd just jump overboard and get distance from the boat and come back.”

She also jumped overboard three times across an eight-hour stint to remove barnacles from the hull in the icy ocean.

“I never feared for my life or for my boat's safety. I've gone through life with an inherent trust in life. When I cycled through Africa (as a 22-year-old), people said, 'You are going to die of malaria, you are going to get murdered and die of thirst in the Sahara'. I didn't feel that in my heart.”

She says taking line honours on Freedom Day made the occasion more special. “In the South African sense it is Mandela Day. I'm not for role models, but if there is one person I wish I'd met it is that man, Nelson Mandela. I love South Africa. I love South Africa the way it is now.

“Gender equality, racial equality, democracy. That is what it means to me. And the sacrifice that someone like Nelson Mandela made is just immense.

“I'm happy that in this generation I can do these things. In my mom's generation it would have been a lot tougher. I didn't think of the date it was, but it means a lot.”

After completing the race in an official time of 233 days, 20 hours, 43 minutes and 47 seconds, Neuschäfer did not seek a comfortable hotel bed in Les Sables d'Ollone.

The professional delivery skipper explained the boat is home, but she can't wait to get back to the Eastern Cape.

“I would like to see my family, especially my father, my dogs. I have a little corner in South Africa that is like paradise, the Wild Coast on the Transkei coastline. It is wild and it is beautiful, and there is nothing as relaxing as packing my tent, taking my dog and walking hundreds of kilometres along pristine coastline, camping wild, making a little fire at night.”