Global Solo Challenge

Noa Hopper as an official entry in the Global Solo Challenge 2027–2028. Noa comes to the event from a life shaped by the ocean, driven by the same underlying impulse that defines the GSC: to commit fully, solve what the sea presents, and discover what’s possible when life is reduced to the essentials.

Raised around the water in the United States, Noa’s path into sailing was forged early. After breaking both ankles at age six — effectively ending land sports — he leaned even further into the ocean world his family loved, spending his childhood swimming, surfing, paddling, and sailing. That long immersion built a natural comfort offshore, and a mindset he sums up with clarity: sailing is a sequence of puzzles — solve them patiently and creatively, and you make it across.

For Noa, single-handed sailing is not only a test of seamanship but a deliberate way to experience life more intensely. He is drawn to the simplicity of long solitude at sea, where external noise falls away and the focus narrows to what matters: the boat, the weather, the next decision. He hopes that by finding his limits and pushing past them, he can better understand what holds people back — and share that learning with others who carry ambitious goals of their own.

Noa will campaign a Koopmans 41, Penelope — an aluminium cutter launched in 1997 — named both for the wife of Odysseus and for his mother. Capable and strongly built, she matches the kind of ocean-going project Noa is assembling. His preparation plan is as unconventional as it is substantial: over the next year he intends to sail around the world, visiting conservation projects to help them tell their stories, with major solo legs planned from Mexico to the South Pacific, and potentially New Zealand to Patagonia in early 2027 — essentially turning the build-up into “half the race.”

Alongside the sporting challenge, Noa wants to carry a clear message of optimism and action. In a media environment he feels is saturated with negativity, he aims to highlight the equal presence of good — by supporting initiatives that protect ocean wildlife, collecting donations, and helping projects gain the visibility and funding they need to keep doing the work that benefits all of us.

We are delighted to welcome Noa to the GSC and look forward to following his progress as he works toward the 2027 start in Vigo, Spain.

About the Skipper

Name: Noa Hopper
Nationality: USA
Resides in: United States
Born in: 10 Apr 1999
Miles sailed: 40,000 (approx.)
Boat: Penelope — Koopmans 41 (1997), aluminium cutter