In 1985, in summer, I popped over to say hi to Rob and Renee Patterson who were friends. They were working on their sailboat tied up at the dock behind McSeagulls restaurant. During our visit, Rob mentioned another boat and couple who were also “hanging out” nearby aboard a Paul Luke-built (Aage Nielson design) 51-foot auxiliary ketch named Seaflower. The owners, Jim and Helene LaFleur, were quite friendly and invited me aboard for a visit and tour. We became good friends during and after our visit. It turned out that they were preparing Seaflower for Jim’s solo crossing from Boothbay Harbor to Cork Ireland for the “Cork 800” celebration. I was intrigued and curious.

Jim was head of an electronics company in California. His trip across the North Atlantic had been on his bucket list before there was such a list. He was an adventuresome sort and Helene, his wife, was all hands on deck with helpful preparations. I was having trouble understanding how someone could embark upon such a mission, but was anxious to learn more. I began to document their activities. Eventually the idea was floated to have me photograph Jim’s departure from Maine then fly to Ireland to record his arrival. Pretty exciting stuff for yours truly. I’m happy to say that Jim made the crossing in good shape (21 days), arriving July 25 on a rough and foggy day.

Fast forward to my recent connection with Kirsten Neuschafer, a seasoned boat captain who needed some publicity photos for an upcoming bucket list item to beat all – the “Golden Globe” solo sailboat race around the world scheduled to begin Sept. 4 from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France.

I met up with Kirsten at Lyman Morse boatyard in Thomaston where she was working on the boat she had captained, Pelagic, in the Antarctic and elsewhere. The boat was hauled out for service and repair. She worked on the the boat daily as she waited for clearance during COVID to head to her boat on Prince Edward Island. She was having big problems getting into Canada, which eventually she did. After work on her boat was completed in PEI, Kirsten sailed single handedly to South Africa for a brief but ambitious stay with her family and friends and for more boat work.

The “Golden Globe” race has pretty serious specifics regarding contestants and their vessel. The boats need to be “vintage” production boats between 32 and 36 feet without modern technology or the benefit of satellite-based navigation aids. Kirsten and her boat, Minnehaha, a Cape George Cutter, CG36, are currently sailing to France from South Africa. Kirsten is the only woman contestant in the “Golden Globe” race which is about a seven to nine-month (approximately 30,000 nautical miles) single-handed race around the world. I can’t even imagine. I have trouble finding my way through the Hannaford store! Kirsten is only 40 years old. And, oh, by the way, she rode a bicycle from Europe, at age 22, to South Africa (15,000 km). That trip took about a year! Jeez! I guess she gave up knitting at an early age!

I will report on Kirsten’s progress from time to time but you can also follow her travels online: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirstenNeuschaferGGR; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstenggr/?hl=en; or Newsletter: https://kirstenggr.com/newsletter