Here’s what it was like aboard Kirsten Neuschäfer’s boat, MINNEHAHA, during her attempt to win the 2022 Golden Globe Race…
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David and Margaret Tew says:
Like the concerns about her swimming off the boat without (perhaps) any trailing line I felt similar heebie-jeebies about Tom Robinson repeatedly going overboard to scrub the bottom of his boat mid-Pacific. Especially so now that we’ve seen video of white shark feeding behavior: they can rush at speed up from the depths (vertically) to snap jaws onto their prey.
Steven Paraskevas says:
I found the part with the swim ladder disturbing. It’s not unlike those people who hang from the edges of skyscrapers by their fingertips. She can do what she wants in private, of course, but why would you put this particular thing on a video you post to many viewers. Only one reason – to show off, that’s why. Not cool.
Dean Tucker says:
I agree. I couldn’t watch any more of the video after I saw her doing that.
Michael McEvoy says:
Rule one of sailing anywhere far from land and alone is stay on the boat at all times except perhaps the opening flat calm shot, but even then, one sudden gust could be the end. Rule two is to stay off the top of the mast unless there is some drastic rigging issue. It is a great visual video with some great shots of sea and sky, but someone might get the idea that taking such risks at sea or even alongshore is OK and it is not OK by any means. This is a scary as hell video and Off Center should have a warning to that effect that taking such risks is not advised.
michael childs says:
Is the Minnehaha wood or plastic?
Steve Stone says:
Fiberglass hull, Michael. There’s a nice write up on her boat on her website:
https://kirstenggr.com/minnehaha
Bill Kenneke says:
Amazing but that one bit scared the crap out of me :-0
Steve Stone says:
What bit was that Bill?
Bill Kenneke says:
Her hanging off the swim ladder, looked relaxing but wasn’t tied to the boat
Steve Stone says:
Exactly. Didn’t even see a trailing line to grab. That’d be my first question in an interview, and I wonder if there was some safety mechanism that we couldn’t see or if it was a similar thing to swimming away from the boat when becalmed (albeit with sails down and tiller lashed over).
Bill Theurkauf says:
Not sure what Bill is referring to, but hanging off the back of the boat on that ladder (1;30 in), without anything tethering her to it, had my stomach in knots, One slip and she’s gone!
Stanley Zalenski says:
You weren’t the only one !