All Good, K.: Along the Way to Victory in the Golden Globe Race 2022

Minnehaha was right at the back of the yard, next to the back fence, with several rows of other boats between her and the water. She had a canvas tent over her deck to keep the worst of the weather out, so I could not see her in her entirety. I don’t know how to begin to explain it, but when I saw her, a feeling of excitement fluttered inside me. I looked at her solid hull, her long, solid keel, and I knew in my gut that she was the one.

All Good, K. is Kirsten Neuschäfer’s true account of preparing for and sailing to victory in the Golden Globe Race of 2022.

The GGR is a replica of the initial 1968 race: the first solo circumnavigation of the world, nonstop, and with no outside assistance, by way of the Southern Ocean. Nine competitors set out in 1968, but only one completed the race. This was the legendary Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, adventurer and inspiration to many. Revived for the first time in 2018, the modern-day GGR replicates the original. Vessels are old-school cruising boats, navigation is by celestial bodies, and only technology that existed in 1968 may be used.

When Kirsten entered the GGR, she had almost no racing experience. She had no idea how to fund or run a campaign. She avoided social media. She did not own a boat. But all her life, she had embraced adventure, and single-handed sailing was a passion from early on. Undertaking a sea voyage of this magnitude, 30 000 nautical miles, was an excursion unlike any other. It captured her imagination and spoke to her dreams.

As absorbing and thrilling as the account of the race itself is, the story of the journey to the start-line in Les Sables d’Olonne in France is what sets this book apart from other sailing books. Kirsten shares many technical details of the preparation, including boat-building, sailing techniques and navigation. Coupled with a sharp sense of humour and an astute and observant eye, she brings to vivid life the many people who walked the path with her, literally and figuratively. We meet the fake harbour master of Summerside, the welder who thought he was a scuba diver, the musician who was inspired to write a song about laughing waters, the chef who was also a genie in a hundred bottles, and many others.

On another level, the book is a meditation on nature and the self. Eight months alone on her boat, Minnehaha, surrounded by the vast ocean, contending with the elements and often turbulent conditions, as well as prolonged calms, was a profound experience. It brought a fresh understanding of the fragility of life and the interconnectedness of all living things. Moments of frustration and despair, contrasting with joy and gratitude for the gift of life, mark the nautical milestones in Kirsten’s unique voyage of both internal and external exploration.