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Beata Szoboszlai

The allure of solo sailing: a dream that beckons


It has been a month since I left behind my beautiful Misty in Mackay, Australia. Since then, I have been traveling solo, and most of the time, I find myself alone. The people around me usually don't speak good English, making it difficult to engage in meaningful discussions. When I try to initiate conversations beyond my name and nationality, I am often met with big smiles and blank faces. While I do spend some time on the phone with loved ones, everyone knows it's not the same as in-person conversations.


Perhaps as a consequence, the other day, I found myself daydreaming about solo sailing. I imagined being on a boat, alone on the open water, heading towards a far and remote destination. This vision brought me a sense of happiness and contentment. I knew the boat inside out. It was smaller, lighter, and faster than Misty. Most things on it were in working order, and the few that weren't didn't matter much. In this lucid dream, I missed human contact and interaction, but the excitement of embarking on that great adventure by myself outweighed my craving for people.


I don't know how or when, but I am determined to make this solo sailing adventure a reality. People like Kirsten Neuschäfer are such inspirations. She was the first woman to win the Golden Globe yachting race and essentially any around-the-world race as a female skipper. The 2022 Golden Globe Race is a solo, nonstop yacht race around the world without assistance and the use of modern technology like GPS, autopilot, or synthetic materials. Kirsten completed and won the race aboard Minnehaha, her 36-foot Cape George sailboat, after spending 234 days at sea. She is an amazing human being and an incredible character. In one of her interviews, she shared what drives her:

“Sometimes in the tropics, if it’s nice and calm, I’ll drop sail and lash the helm over to one side,” recalled Kirsten Neuschäfer before the start of the Golden Globe Race. “I’ll jump overboard and have a swim around the boat, and sometimes I’ll swim away from the boat, just to get that feeling of vastness. That sense of eternity. That if the boat did sail away, it would be eternity. And it is a scary thought, but it’s also kind of intriguing.”

(Source: Yachting World)


Is she crazy? Maybe a little bit. But for some reason, I can relate to her, which I suppose makes me a little bit crazy too.


My second inspiration is Jessica Watson, who - in 2010 - navigated some of the world's most remote oceans, survived seven knockdowns, and spent 210 days alone at sea to become the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop around the world at the age of 16. On completing her voyage, Jessica was declared an Australian hero by the then Prime Minister. Can you imagine? Having all the knowledge about sailing, navigation, weather, fixing broken parts of the boat, and managing her mental and physical health for 210 days alone at sea. But more importantly, being so driven at such a young age is simply extraordinary. The name of her boat was Pink Lady. There is even a movie about her voyage.




Picture: sailing vessel Pink Lady being displayed in the Maritime Museum of Brisbane.


When I visited Sydney's Maritime Museum, I came across Kay Cottee, the first woman to perform a single-handed, non-stop, and unassisted circumnavigation of the world. She spent 189 days at sea on her 37-foot yacht, Blackmores First Lady, in 1988 when she was 34 years old. During her journey, she encountered a massive storm in the Southern Ocean with 100-knot winds and 70-foot (21 meters) seas. She was even washed overboard. Reflecting on this experience, she said:


"My life flashed before my eyes for the second time in an hour - having just missed a collision with a tanker - as I was washed just over the top of the leeward safety railing before my harness lines pulled me up short. I held my breath underwater until my lungs felt they would burst, willing my lovely Lady to right herself and praying that the two harness lines did not give way. She took her time, but true to form, gracefully rose once again, this time with me dangling over the side."

(Source: Women Australia)


Picture: Kay Cottee's boat, Blackmores First Lady

There are so many other amazing women to mention, such as Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, Tracy Edwards, or Laura Dekker.


I know I need to sail more with a crew, venture into the Southern Ocean, and gradually find a boat for solo sailing. It's a long shot, and I need to think about a step-by-step plan, but the idea of embarking on this adventure one day is incredibly exciting.

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