SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The Minnehaha sailed out of the thick afternoon fog and cast anchor just offshore in the cold Jan. 5 waters of Summerside Harbour.
It is almost unheard of for a small pleasure craft to visit the city this time of year. The harbour is usually frozen in January. Large ships require an ice breaker just to reach the wharf. But this year, Mother Nature has, so far, kept the bay open and the adjacent Northumberland Strait free of ice.
The surprise visit of the yacht immediately drew the attention of locals, with photographs and inquiries floating around social media.
Minnehaha’s skipper is Kirsten Neuschäfer, a professional sailor from South Africa. The Journal Pioneer caught up with her as she was securing her vessel to the wharf. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, Neuschäfer could not come ashore just yet, but she was happy to chat from the deck of her vessel while she worked.
She had just sailed the Cabot Strait from Newfoundland and Labrador and plans on having her vessel repaired and refitted here on P.E.I., before setting sail again in the spring.
The Minnehaha is a Cape George 36 cutter design and Neuschäfer purchased her in Newfoundland last year.
Once it is refit, her goal is to sail it in the 2022 Golden Globe Race, which is a race around the world that forbids the use of most modern technology.
The Golden Globe is based on the 1966 voyage of Sir Francis Chichester and the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. The idea of the modern iteration of the race is to use only vessels and technology used by those intrepid sailors.
The ruggedness of the race is what drew Neuschäfer.
“I’m a passionate sailor, I love single-handing (sailing alone), and I like more old-school stuff, so I’m more into this kind of thing than being on a really, really high-tech boat,” she said. “And this race has a huge element of luck to it, which I really like. So, it’s absolutely my dream.”
Fast Facts about the 2022 Golden Globe Race:
- Entry is by invitation only
- It is a non-stop race around the world, starting Sept. 4, 2022, and ending in June 2023
- Starting and end point is Les Sables d’Olonne, France.
- Usable technology is limited to pre-1968 levels, though each boat has a sealed emergency kit with a GPS chart plotter. Anyone who breaks the seal is disqualified from the race
- Yachts used in the race must have been designed prior to 1988 and be between 32 and 36 feet long
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly delayed Neuschäfer’s plans. She purchased Minnehaha just before the pandemic largely shut-down international travel.
She had originally planned on sailing the yacht to Maine for its refit, but it is now too late in the year to do that safely. It took her months to get permission to come to Canada to retrieve her vessel and once she got here she ended up staying for five weeks in Newfoundland, completing her mandatory isolation and getting Minnehaha ready to sail.
She navigated more red tape to get the permission to come to P.E.I., but thanks to a fellow sailor and Island resident, Alan Burland, she was able to make arrangements for a support person here to drive her to her isolation place and deliver groceries.
That responsibility is cheerfully being shouldered by an acquaintance of Burland’s, local resident Arleigh Hudson.
“Kirsten is probably the bravest person I’ve met in my whole entire life – and I’ve only known her for two days,” said Hudson.
Minnehaha was lifted out of the water on Friday, Jan. 8. Neuschäfer will start her refit and repair once she completes her two weeks of isolation. She is also looking forward to exploring P.E.I. in her free time.
Anyone interested in following along with Neuschäfer’s adventures can do so by checking out her social media channels, links to which can be found on her website kirstenggr.com.
