When Cole Brauer crossed the finish line of the Global Solo Challenge in A Coruña, Spain, early today, she was met with scores of fans and well wishers, as well as friends and family she hadn’t seen in four months. She was also met with the race’s first-place finisher, Philippe Delamare, whose success on his Actual 46, Mowgli, has often been overshadowed by Cole’s massive media presence. Standing on the dock, Philippe presented the silver trophy to her.

“He gave me the cup and said, ‘I look at you, and I see that you are the next generation of sailor’ and that’s really the only time I started to cry,” Cole said. She says the whole day hasn’t really sunk in yet and her records don’t feel real. “It just feels like I went for a little sail, and now I’m back.”

Finishing second and becoming at 29 years old the first American woman to successfully race nonstop and unassisted around the globe via the Great Capes, Cole has become a worldwide media sensation in the process. She was both the youngest skipper and the only female sailor in the fleet of 16 boats that started the race.

Her fan group chat was alight with messages all day yesterday. People shared photos of their livestream viewing setup, what kinds of celebratory drinks and snacks they were preparing, and most of all, speculation about what time Cole was due to arrive. With an arrival window firmly in the early morning darkness, everyone wanted to be sure they were setting their alarms early enough—everyone who wasn’t planning to stay up all night, that is.

Cole’s following has grown over the past five months from around 13,000 followers to 400,000. And they are devoted. Some traveled all the way to Spain from the United States just to glimpse Cole as she crossed the finish line. One even told us that seeing Cole’s adventure inspired her to turn her life upside down, sell her house, and seek a more fulfilling life. In the group chat, someone shared a photo of a seven-monitor setup that would allow him to have multiple live streams, trackers, and feeds pulled up simultaneously.

Cole’s shore team, family, friends, and fans began converging on Marina Coruña around 5 a.m. local time to board a small fleet of chase boats that would drive out to meet Cole under the cover of darkness. It took awhile, but eventually we managed to pick out the suspended green sparkle of her tricolor among the other lights on the horizon.

As she approached, seeing other people again for the first time in over four months, the cheers went up. Though she wasn’t far from the finish, she needed to put a few tacks in to make it, offering the chase fleet a rare opportunity to watch her perform the maneuvers—seemingly the one aspect of life onboard that isn’t showcased on her Instagram account, but that’s only because she can’t film herself as she does it.

Despite forecasts of rain, dawn broke softly on a pastel sky, a resplendent backdrop for a boat called First Light. Cole started her livestream, explaining what she was doing and how she was feeling as she made her approach.

At 8:23 a.m. local time, March 7, 2024, she crossed the finish line, officially completing the Global Solo Challenge after starting on Oct. 29, 2023. Flares were lit like fireworks in the ritual Cole says she was most excited about upon returning to land. She finished in second place, setting a new Class40 around-the-world speed record and, via social media, bringing the niche realm of solo offshore racing into the mainstream and drawing in tens of thousands of people who don’t sail, let alone know anything about long-distance ocean sailing, but have been captivated by her journey.

Once back on the dock, Cole was inundated with press and well wishers. The local soccer club presented her with a jersey with her name on it and the number 54—her Class40’s number. Champagne was sprayed, and she was gifted a cappuccino and a box of the croissants she’s been craving since the Southern Ocean. Though she may have felt she “only went for a little sail,” the same could not be said for her family and fans who certainly felt the monumental nature of what she’d accomplished. There was no shortage of tears or meet and greets to pack into the morning.

One question Cole says she gets most is “what’s next?” To which the answer is officially that she’s taking some time off before returning to sailing. Unofficially, she’s teased future around-the-world campaigns including the possibility of transitioning to an IMOCA 60. For now, though, First Light is going on the hard for maintenance and storage until the Bay of Biscay settles down somewhat for the season, and it becomes safe to move the boat to France.

For more the Global Solo Challenge, go to globalsolochallenge.com, and for Cole Brauer, visit colebraueroceanracing on instagram.