round the world solo yacht race

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Latest News: 2023 McIntyre Ocean Globe Prize giving!

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The Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is a fully crewed retro race in the spirit of the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race. It marks the 50th anniversary of the original event.

It’s an eight-month adventure around the world for ordinary sailors on normal yachts. Racing ocean-going GRP production yachts designed before 1988, there will be no computers, no satellites, no GPS, and no high-tech materials. Sextants, team spirit and raw determination alone in the great traditions of ocean racing are allowed on this truly human endeavor. These will be real heroes pushing each other to the limit and beyond – in a real race!

Following the success of the 2018 Golden Globe Race , the concept of retro, fully crewed, traditional ocean racing around the globe has returned.

Don McIntyre – 8 minutes on ‘Who What How When Where and Why of the OGR’

Yesterday and Today

The 1968 sunday times golden globe race was the first ever around-the-world yacht race..

It was an adventure to determine who could be the first to circumnavigate the globe solo, nonstop without assistance. Nine sailors started, only one finished. It was an epic tale won by the least expected to win – Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the 32ft timber ketch  Suhaili . He established a world record in the same year that footsteps first appeared on the surface of the Moon. A few years later, the British yachting establishment organised the first ever fully crewed yacht race around the world. With backing from  Whitbread Breweries  and following in the wake of the great clipper ships, the legend that became known simply as ‘The Whitbread’ was born in 1973.

18 yachts lined up for the start on a sunny Saturday morning in Portsmouth England on 8 September 1973. Two more would join for later legs. It was an adventure, a family affair even, in yachts from 45ft to 74ft.

The race would take them first to Cape Town, South Africa and on to Sydney Australia, before heading deep south around the infamous Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro and finally back up to Portsmouth – 27,000 miles later. A total of 324 crew were involved. Sadly, three would never return; lost overboard during Southern Ocean storms. Five yachts retired and three were dismasted. This race was also won by the least expected to win; a family crew with friends, sailing a standard production Swan 65 yacht,  Sayula II , skippered by Mexican Ramón Carlin.

It was a fantastic race. A true adventure filled with real stories of human endeavour, colour and challenges on the high seas.

For the next 20 years the adventure continued with a  Whitbread Round the World Race  staged every four years. Sailors of all levels, ages and backgrounds were able to follow their dreams. They signed on and circumnavigated the globe – in a race.

Yachts became steadily faster, and costs began to climb. The fifth edition in 1989 saw one entry spend £6million in an unsuccessful bid to win. The 6th edition in 1993 brought huge change and sadly the end for most sailors hoping to be part of this ultimate challenge. By then, the  Whitbread Race  had evolved into a fully professional event. In the words of the organisers, it was now the Formula 1 of Grand Prix ocean yacht racing. Ordinary sailors with their dreams could only spectate.

A growing international audience, advancing technology and huge budgets led eventually to Volvo taking over the race. They transformed the event into a nautical extravaganza of stunning proportions with elite sailors that we have all grown to respect. Peak athletes all, sailing a few grand prix, state of the art, one-design yachts, driven by computers, all with comprehensive shore support ready to pick up the pieces. These spectacular Volvo yachts left the clipper ships in their wake in every sense!

Today, these high budget boats chase records across the planet to dazzle at race villages and big budget spectacles. Currently in a state of transition, the newly renamed Ocean Race is stepping up again, reinventing itself in exciting ways with IMOCA 60 yachts sailed by just five elite crew and autopilots now helming for the first time.

On the 50th anniversary of the original Whitbread Round the World Race,  McIntyre Adventure (organisers of the Golden Globe Race ) and the  Globe Yacht Club  are proud to announce, that after 30 years of spectating, ordinary yacht club sailors and owners everywhere, once again have a chance to race around the globe! We are going back to that first great Whitbread Race and sailing like it’s 1973. The Ocean Globe Race (OGR) is for sailors with a dream and a sense of adventure – pure and simple! Is it YOU?

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The Vendée Globe is a legendary race which is celebrating its 10th edition in 2024!

The Vendée Globe is a single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world sailing race that takes place every four years. It is contested on IMOCA monohulls, which are 18 metres long. The skippers set off from Les Sables-d'Olonne in Vendée and sail around 45,000 kilometres around the globe, rounding the three legendary capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and finally Cape Horn) before returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. The race has acquired an international reputation, attracting skippers from all over the world. Beyond the competition, it is above all an incredible human adventure.

What is the Vendée Globe ?

In 2024, the race celebrates its 10th edition! Each edition has been marked by unique stories that have shaped the legend of this race. Edition by edition, relive the great moments of the Vendée Globe since its creation.

The last edition

An unprecedented health context, some fog on the line, Kevin Escoffier’s rescue, an unfavorable weather system for speed, the panache of daggerboard boats, close racing conditions on the three oceans, the game of compensated time … The 9th edition of the Vendée Globe followed an unusual and captivating scenario!

The boats of the Vendée Globe all measure 18,28 m long (60 feet) for a 4,50 draught. With a large sail area, they are the most powerful monohulls of the planet led by a solo skipper. They can nearly reach 40 knots downwind at top speed. The gauge of these racing machines is defined by the IMOCA class (International Monohull Open Class Association), founded in 1991 and supported by World Sailing, the International Sailing Federation.

How to participate

The 10th edition of the Vendée Globe promises to be exceptional. In 2024, 40 skippers are expected to take the start of this solo, non-stop, unassisted round the world race.

Stay tuned #VG2024

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• Digital edition

10 things to know about the 2022 Golden Globe Race

• Katy Stickland
• August 11, 2022

Follow the build-up to the 2022 Golden Globe Race as the skippers prepare to race solo around the world without the use of modern technology

The 2022 Golden Globe Race started on 4 September 2022. The 2018 race started on 1 July 2018. The change in the start date is to prevent boats entering the Southern Ocean too early. Credit: © Ville des Sables d'Olonne - Christophe Huchet Credit: © Ville des Sables d'Olonne - Christophe Huchet

What is the 2022 Golden Globe Race?

The 2022 Golden Globe Race is a solo, nonstop yacht race around the world with no assistance and without the use of modern technology.

This means the skippers can’t use GPS, chartplotters , electric winches , autopilots , mobile phones, iPads or use synthetic materials like Spectra, Kevlar or Vectron.

Their only means of communication is via registered, licensed maritime-approved HF Single Side Band (SSB) Radio , with discussions generally limited to the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) weather. They are allowed to listen to HAM radio, but are not allowed to transmit.

All of the Golden Globe Race skippers must use paper charts and sextants to navigate. Modern technology, like GPS and chartplotters, are banned. Credit: GGR

Each skipper is allowed a weather fax to receive weather charts.

They can only navigate using paper charts and a sextant, which is used to determine the angle between the horizon and a celestial body, such as the sun, moon or a star, to determine the boat’s longitude and latitude. All their calculations and celestial navigation notes need to be kept for inspection after the race. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.

When does it start?

The 2022 Golden Globe Race will start on 4 September 2022 from the port of Les Sables d’Olonne on France ‘s Atlantic coast.

How many skippers are taking part?

To enter the 2022 Golden Globe Race, skippers must be over 18 and have at least 8,000 miles ocean sailing experience, another 2,000 miles singlehanded , in any boat, as well as an additional 2,000 miles solo in their Golden Globe Race boat.

There are 16 skippers who are confirmed for the start. Four of them are from the UK including professional skipper Guy Waites , 54, Mini Transat veteran, Simon Curwen , 62, and Clipper Round the World Race sailor, Ian Herbert-Jones , 52.

The UK has by far the most entries in the race. Pat Lawless , 65, is Ireland’s only entrant.

Kirsten Neuschäfer has Southern Ocean experience, having worked for Skip Novak. Credit: Kirsten Neuschäfer

Kirsten Neuschafer , 39, will be representing South Africa, and is the only woman taking part in the race.

Guy DeBoer , 66, from the USA, France’s Damien Guillou , 39, and Austria’s Michael Guggenberger , 44, have previous race experience.

Others like Arnaud Gaist , 50, from France, and Edward Walentynowicz , 68, are long term cruisers.

The youngest skipper is Elliot Smith , 27, (USA) whilst Jeremy Bagshaw , 59, (South Africa) is racing in the race’s smallest yacht, the OE32.

2018 skipper Ertan Beskardes will be on the start line for the 2022 Golden Globe Race. Credit: GGR/Ertan Beskardes

Some of the skippers who took part in the 2018 event are also back to race again – UK skipper Ertan Beskardes , 60, Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen , 64, who came fifth in 2018, Australian Mark Sinclair , 63, and Indian sailor Abhilash Tomy , 43, who was left with a broken back after his boat dismasted in the Southern Indian Ocean.

What boats will be raced during the event?

Skippers were allowed to choose from a range of pre-1988 yachts, with hull lengths from 32-36ft and full length keels with rudders attached to the trailing edge.

They include the Westsail 32, Tradewind 35, Saga 34, Saltram Saga 36, Vancouver 32, OE 32, Eric (sister ship to Suhaili), Aries 32, Baba 35, Biscay 36 , Bowman 36 , Cape Dory 36, Nicholson 32 MKX-XI, Rustler 36, Endurance 35 , Gaia 36, Hans Christian 33T, Tashiba 36, Cabo Rico 34, Hinckley Pilot 35, Lello 34 and Gale Force 34.

The Rustler 36, which won the 2018 Golden Globe Race, is the most popular, with four taking part.

Four Rustler 36s will be taking part in the 2022 Golden Globe Race – the most popular boat chosen for the race. Credit: Yann Riou – polaRYSE / PRB

There are also two Biscay 36s and two Tradewind 35s.

Other yachts in the race include the Lello 34, OE32, Gale Force 34, Gaia 36, Cape George Cutter CG36, Tashiba 36, Barbican 33 Mk2 and Saltram Saga 36.

The suitability of the boats to survive the Golden Globe Race lies with the skippers.

All the boats have to undergo refits and survey to make sure they can stand up to the rigours of sailing offshore and ocean passages.

Most of the skippers in the 2022 Golden Globe Race, like Ian Herbert-Jones, have done much of the refit work on their boats themselves. Credit: Ian Herbert-Jones

The refit must stay true to the original design; mast height, boom length, bowsprits and ballast are not allowed to exceed original design specifications.

Owners are allowed to strengthen the vessel and have extra standing rigging .

What is the 2022 Golden Globe Race route?

The Golden Globe Race course for 2022. For this edition there will be four gates. Credit: Ocean Frontiers OGR/ GGR/CG580

The skippers will leave from Les Sables d’Olonne in France and have to sail around the world, returning to the French port.

During their circumnavigation, they will have to sail around four compulsory rounding marks: Lanzarote, Cape Town in South Africa, Hobart in Australia and Punta del Este in Uruguay.

They will also have to keep the island of Trinidade to port as they sail down the South Atlantic.

This follows the Clipper route taken by Bernard Moitessier in the first Golden Globe Race in 1968-69.

Continues below…

Golden Globe Race 2022: The Long Way

Katy Stickland meets the skippers turning their backs on modern technology to take part in the slowest yacht race around…

Golden Globe Race course: changes for 2022 edition

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How do you sail non-stop for 9 months?

All the skippers will be relying heavily on their windvane steering , which is a non-electric device mounted on the transom which steers the boat.

The vane is directed into the wind, and as the wind hits the vane, it tips, transferring this action through the mechanism below to either a rudder or a servo pendulum which acts on the main rudder, altering the boat’s course.

Although windvane self-steering cannot hold a boat on a compass course, it does mean the skipper isn’t having to helm 24/7, giving them time to eat, sleep, prepare sails, make repairs, write up their log or just relax.

What happens in the case of an emergency?

All the skippers must carry a race pack on board which can be used in case of an emergency.

Inside is a stand-alone satellite tracking system, which the skippers can’t see, for web tracking updates, a two-way satellite short text paging unit which connects only to race headquarters, two handheld satellite phones for up to four short messages per day and a sealed box with two portable GPS chart plotters for emergency use only.

All skippers who enter the 2022 Golden Globe Race have to complete an approval survival training course. Credit: Paul Quaglian

All entrants will be tracked 24/7 by satellite, and will be able to use this information in an emergency by breaking open a sealed safety box containing a GPS and satellite phone. By doing this, they will be deemed to have retired from the race.

Prior to the start, all entrants must complete an approved survival course and be deemed medically fit to enter the race.

If a skipper is approaching a dangerous weather situation or drifting ice, then the race HQ will provide all the necessary information so the dangerous areas can be avoided.

How do you follow the 2022 Golden Globe Race?

The 2022 Golden Globe Race can be followed at www.yachtingmonthly.com/goldengloberace

All the boats will be fitted with three YB3 trackers so their positions can be followed.

What is the history of the Golden Globe Race?

Believed to be a ‘voyage for madmen’ when it was first announced, the first edition of the Golden Globe Race was held in 1968-69 and was sponsored by the Sunday Times, Initially, it was thought to be an impossible feat.

Nine set out including then novice sailor Chay Blyth , his former Atlantic rowing partner John Ridgway, British Navy submarine commander Bill King, Royal Navy officer Nigel Tetley, French sailor Bernard Moitessier, who famously kept sailing ‘to save my soul’, eventually sailing one and a half times around the world before stopping in Tahiti, and the ill-fated ‘weekend sailor’ Donald Crowhurst, who gave his life while trying to achieve what no-one had done before.

It was later found out that Donald Crowhurst had not left the Atlantic during the 243 days he was at sea. Credit: Getty

Robin Knox-Johnston was the only skipper to finish, arriving in Falmouth 312 days after leaving the Cornish port aboard his 32ft ketch, Suhaili .

It earned him fame, but the race had its own legacy.

Together with Blondie Hasler’s OSTAR , which started in 1960, yacht racing had captured the public’s imagination, with many going on to achieve their own offshore sailing adventures.

It nurtured the likes of the Whitbread Round the World Race , BOC Challenge and the Vendée Globe .

The 2022 Golden Globe Race will celebrate French sailor Bernard Moitessier, who took part in the 1968-69 Golden Globe Race. Credit: Getty

Two years after the 1968-69 Golden Globe Race, Blyth solo circumnavigated the world nonstop against the prevailing winds and currents, a feat repeated by Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, the winner of the 2018-19 Golden Globe Race, the second edition of this round the world solo yacht race.

Australian sailor Don McIntyre was responsible for founding the 2018 Golden Globe Race, which was held to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1968-69 race.

The 2022 Golden Globe Race is being held in celebration of Bernard Moitessier.

What happened in the 2018 race?

Only 18 skippers started the 2018 Golden Globe Race on 1 July 2018, with just five finishing.

French sailor, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede aboard his Rustler 36, Matmut was an early leader in the race and was the first entrant to round the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa, 53 days after the start. By this time, six skippers had retired from the race, either due to equipment failure or lack of experience to continue.

As the fleet headed down the Atlantic into the Southern Indian Ocean there were further casualties.

Norwegian sailor Are Wiig was dismasted 400 miles south west of Cape Town, and was forced to sail to port under jury rig.

Four skippers needed rescuing during the 2018 Golden Globe Race, including Abhilash Tomy, who broke his back after his boat dismasted in the Southern Indian Ocean. Credit: Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Irish skipper, Gregor McGuckin and Indian Navy Commander Abhilash Tomy were both caught in the same southern Indian Ocean storm. Both of their boats were dismasted, with Tomy breaking his back in several places. Both were rescued by the French patrol vessel, Osiris .

French sailor Loïc Lepage’s Nicholson 32 Mk X was dismasted 600 miles south-west of Perth, Australia, and was rescued by the crew of the bulk carrier Shiosai after the yacht began sinking.

British sailor Susie Goodall was one of only six 2018 skippers to make it to the Hobart gate in Australia.

Her Rustler 36 was later pitchpoled and dismasted in a Southern Ocean storm, around 2,000 miles west of Cape Horn.

She set up a jury rig, but lost this in heavy weather, and had to be rescued by the crew of the Hong Kong-registered cargo ship, Tian Fu .

A triumphant Jean-Luc Van Dan Heede after coming first in the 2018 Golden Globe Race. Credit: Christophe Favreau/PPL/GGR

The 2018 Golden Globe Race was won Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, who finished after 211 days at sea. At 73, he also claimed the record for being the oldest person to complete a solo round the world yacht race.

Second place went to Dutch skipper Mark Slats , who finished in 216 days in his Rustler 36, and had been Van Den Heede’s greatest rival in the race.

Estonia’s Uku Radmaa crossed the finish line after 254 days at sea, having almost ran out of food during the race which left him 2okg lighter.

Istvan Kopar from the USA finished fourth, in 264 days.

The final skipper to cross the line was Tapio Lehtinen from Finland, who took even longer than Sir Robin Knox-Johnston in the original 1968-69 race.

Barnacle growth on the hull of his Gaia 36 meant he sailed around the world in 322 days; Sir Robin had done it in 313 days.

2018 Race Results

1 Jean- Luc VDH (FRA) Rustler 36 Matmut 2 Mark Slats (NED) Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick 3 Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All 4 Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin 5 Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria

6 Mark Sinclair (AUS) Lello 34, Coconut (Chichester Class)

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Latest News: €213 Million Golden Globe Race 2022 Media Value

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GGR winner Kirsten Neuschäfer named female 2023 Rolex World Sailor of the Year

The Race Returns.

6 september 2026, sailing like it's 1968, follow the race.

Featured Video

GGR 2026 Trailer

The Golden Globe Race remains totally unique in the world of sailing and stands alone as the longest, loneliest, slowest, most daring challenge for an individual in any sport.

2026 Skippers

Pat Lawless

• Nationality: Irish
• Country of Entry: IRELAND
• Boat: Saltram Saga 36

• Nationality: Australian / South African
• Country of Entry: AUSTRALIA
• Boat: Atkins Eric 32 Suhaili Replica

Matthew Wright

• Nationality: Australian
• Boat: Rustler 36 Masthead Sloop

Guido Cantini

• Nationality: Italian
• Country of Entry: ITALY
• Boat: Vancouver 34 Classic

Edward Walentynowicz

• Nationality: Canadian
• Country of Entry: CANADA

• Nationality:
• Country of Entry: USA
• Boat: Endurance 35

Alan Lillywhite

• Nationality: British
• Country of Entry: UNITED KINGDOM
• Boat: Biscay 36 Sloop

Stephen Wraith

• Boat: Cape George 36 (Proposed)

• Country of Entry: TURKEY
• Boat: Biscay 36

Javier Lapresa

• Country of Entry: SPAIN
• Boat: Endurance 35 (proposed)

Olivia Wyatt

• Boat: Ta Shing Panda 34

• Boat: OE 32

Matt Woodside

• Boat: Cape George 36

Andrea Lodolo

• Boat: Rustler 36

Daniel Alfredsson

• Nationality: Swedish
• Country of Entry: NORWAY

Andrew Ritchie

• Nationality: German
• Country of Entry: GERMANY

Joel Harkimo

• Nationality: Finnish
• Country of Entry: FINLAND

Henry Wootton

• Boat: Cutter-rigged Cape George 36

Gunnar Christensen

• Nationality: USA
• Boat: Hans Christian 34

Oleg Schmidt

• Nationality: Russian

Louis Kerdelhué

• Nationality: French
• Country of Entry: FRANCE
• Boat: Biscay 36 Masthead Ketch

Mathys Delmere

• Nationality: Swiss
• Boat: Elizabethan 35

Colm Walker

Larry Schmid

• Nationality: American
• Boat: Union 36 Cutter

Special Invitation Entry

Confidential entry, the race in numbers.

"When I first heard about the 2018 GGR I thought it was a great idea, why not do it, reach out to people who have the ambition to do something special with their lives." Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Patron of the Golden Globe Race

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Kirsten Neuschäfer makes history in toughest global solo yacht race

Good news stories from the past seven days

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The world’s toughest round-the-world solo yacht race has been won by a woman for the first time. Kirsten Neuschäfer, a 40-year-old skipper from South Africa, took 233 days to complete the Golden Globe Race. Participants (who were all male apart from Neuschäfer) set off from the west coast of France in September, and were due to sail non-stop around the world via the five Great Capes. By the time Neuschäfer got back to France last week, she was one of just three sailors left from the starting 16. “I’m very happy,” she said, “but I entered as a sailor and being a woman is just secondary.”

Swimmers back pop-up pool scheme

Olympian swimmers including Ellie Simmonds and Adam Peaty are backing a new pop-up pool scheme designed to help more children learn to swim. Starting in the West Midlands, the temporary pools will be installed in marquees in the grounds of selected primary schools, many of them in areas where there are no public pools within easy striking distance. The aim is to teach pupils to swim 25 metres. Currently, almost a third of Year 6 children are unable to swim.

RHS adds treasures to digital archive

The Royal Horticultural Society is offering free digital access to 10,000 treasures from its archive. The items in its new online library, many of which are too fragile to handle, include books, photographs and herbarium specimens spanning 500 years of gardening history. Among the highlights are an 1876 seed book containing prints of rare vegetable varieties, and Capability Brown’s account book, which reveals in elegant handwriting that the king paid him £500 on 26 April 1765, but notes that it had been “due in March”.

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Golden Globe: Kirsten Neuschäfer becomes first woman to win solo round the world race

• Helen Fretter
• April 27, 2023

Kirsten Neuschäfer has become the first woman ever to win a solo around the world race, finishing first in the Golden Globe Race, having successfully rescued a fellow competitor from his liferaft on the way.

South African solo skipper Kirsten Neuschäfer has won the Golden Globe Race , crossing the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne at around 2100hrs today after 235 days of racing. In doing so Neuschäfer has become the first woman ever to win a solo around the world race, and she does so having successfully rescued a fellow competitor from his liferaft off South Africa.

She drifted over the line in zephyr light winds this evening in the evening light, having contended with racing through the Southern Ocean, around the three Great Capes, in her Cape George 36, Minnehaha , with huge spectator fleet welcoming her.

“This is amazing, it’s a once in a lifetime experience,” she said on the dock.

“I didn’t know if I’d win it. I was convinced I’d finish it, but after the Doldrums I thought that’s finished [the chance of winning] for me. I was quite overwhelmed [to learn I’d won] I thought I was going to come in 3rd after Simon [Curwen] and Abhilash [Tomy].”

On being the first woman ever to win a solo around the world race, she said: “I’m very happy, but I entered as a sailor and being a woman is just secondary.”

Kirsten Neuschäfer on her Cape George 36 Minnehaha” Credit: Kirsten Neuschäfer / GGR2022

Neuschäfer went into the race as one of the hotly tipped skippers to watch, and has either held – or duelled for – the lead since Simon Curwen pulled into Chile in late January.

Her nearest competitor, Abhilash Tomy, is some 100 miles behind her, the pair having raced up the Atlantic in a remarkably close match – all the more remarkable given that neither knew each other’s position. In fact, until she saw the large spectator fleet welcoming her outside Les Sables d’Olonne, Neuschäfer did not even know she was in the lead.

Neuschäfer is one of just three skippers racing around the world solo, two more – including Simon Curwen, who crossed the line earlier today – were in ‘Chichester ‘ division (named after Sir Francis Chichester’s 1966-67 solo circumnavigation which included a stopover in Sydney).

Before entering the Golden Globe Race, Neuschäfer worked for legendary skipper Skip Novak , both crewing and skippering his expedition yachts in high latitudes. This gave her invaluable experience of sailing in the deepest Southern Oceans.

Kirsten Neuschäfer arriving in Les Sables d’Olonne as winner of the Golden Globe Race 2022/23. Photo: GGR2022

Her preparation for the race was complicated by covid lockdown, and having bought her 1988 Cape George cutter in Newfoundland she spent a winter in Prince Edward Island near Nova Scotia putting the boat through a thorough refit. 

She then delivered it solo home to Cape Town, practising her celestial navigation on the way, and then to France. Once gathered alongside the other Golden Globe Race competitors, Minnehaha quickly proved itself as one of the fastest boats in the fleet.

While Simon Curwen stole an early lead on the fleet, Neuschäfer, along with Tomy and Finnish skipper Tapio Lehtinen became a pack of three as they entered the Southern Indian Ocean. Then, on November 19, Lehtinen notified race control that his boat had suddenly sunk, and he was in a liferaft. Race organisers raised the alarm with fellow competitors and Kirsten Neuschafer, then in 3rd place, was nearest, around 105 miles south-west.

Neuschäfer made best speed to Lehtinen’s last known position, hand-steering through the night, and 24 hours after he abandoned ship Minnehaha arrived at his position. She executed a textbook solo recovery, 

Lehtinen described the manoeuvre: “She furled in the genoa, lowered the main, started the engine and approached the raft to windward of me so I could throw the throwing line to her, which she put around a winch and pulled me alongside.

“I was able to climb onboard Minnehaha with her help. It was great!”

Fellow Golden Globe Race skipper Kirsten Neuschafer was the first on the scene, rescuing Tapio Lehtinen from his liferaft before he was transferred to the Darya Gayatri. Credit: Anglo Eastern

The pair shared a hug, chocolate and a tot of rum, meanwhile a bulk carrier, the Darya Gayatri approached. Neuschäfer then manoeuvred Minnehaha into the lee of the carrier ship – an incredibly skilful piece of positioning with the ever present risk of clattering her own rig into the ship’s high sides. Once throwing lines were secured, Lehtinen got back into the liferaft and transferred to the ship. Neuschäfer continued on with her race. She was awarded 35 hours of redress for the rescue. 

The remainder of Neuschäfer’s race was not without drama – damage to her spinnaker pole meant she was limited in her headsail selection, and with very limited weather data she had a grindingly slow passage north through the Atlantic. 

However, her win today makes history as the first female skipper ever to win a solo round the world race. Women have won in crewed around the world races – in the last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, two female crew, Caroline Brouwer and Marie Riou were part of the winning Dongfeng Race Team. In the 2017/18 Clipper Round the World Race Wendy Tuck skippered the winning boat, while Nikki Henderson skippered the boat in 2nd.

Most famously, Ellen MacArthur set a solo non-stop around the world record in 2004, having finished 2nd in 2000/01 Vendée Globe – a finish place yet to be matched by another female skipper. Clarisse Cremer currently holds the record for the fastest solo non-stop around the world time for a female sailor, completing the last Vendée Globe in 87 days, 2 hours and 24 minutes. But none have won a solo around the world race.

Neuschaffer’s time may be considerably slower, but the Golden Globe Race is inarguably one of the toughest sporting events in existence and the skill she demonstrated throughout places her name firmly alongside the greats of ocean racing.

Neuschafer was greeted by Catherine Chabaud, the first female sailor to race solo non stop around the world without assistance. Credit: GGR2022

As Samantha Davies, Vendée Globe and Ocean Race sailor posted: “This is just amazing! So happy to have followed this crazy race and see an incredibly talented female skipper come in to win overall, with a 24h time bonus for having saved a fellow competitor during the race. Just incredible seamanship! I am in awe.”

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This race is a nonstop sail around the world. Cassette tapes are allowed, but no GPS

Scott Neuman

South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer, the only woman in the 2022 Golden Globe Race. All but three of her 15 competitors in the grueling months-long competition have been forced to drop out. Aida Valceanu/GGR/2022 hide caption

South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer, the only woman in the 2022 Golden Globe Race. All but three of her 15 competitors in the grueling months-long competition have been forced to drop out.

Somewhere in the Southern Pacific Ocean, Kirsten Neuschafer is alone on her boat, Minnehaha, as she tries to outmaneuver the latest storm to cross her path as she approaches Cape Horn.

Instead of sailing directly for the tip of South America, she's spent the past day heading north in an effort to skirt the worst of the oncoming weather. The storm is threatening wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour and seas building to 25 feet.

Her plan, she explains over a scratchy satellite phone connection, is to get away from the eye of the storm. "The closer I get to the Horn," she says, "the more serious things become, the windier it becomes."

But there's no turning back. That's because Neuschafer is battling to win what is possibly the most challenging competition the sailing world has to offer — the Golden Globe Race. Since setting off from the coast of France in September, Neuschafer, the only woman competing, has left all rivals in her wake. Of the 16 entrants who departed five months ago, only four are still in the race, and for the moment at least, she's leading.

The race is a solo, nonstop, unassisted circumnavigation, a feat first accomplished in 1969, the same year that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon. Since then, more people have traveled to space than have done what Neuschafer is hoping to accomplish.

The race is a throwback in most every way. Unlike its more famous cousin, the Vendée Globe solo nonstop race with its purpose-built vessels made for speed, Golden Globe entrants sail low-tech boats that wouldn't look out of place in any coastal marina. And they do so without modern electronic aids — no laptops or electronic charts, radar or sophisticated weather routing. To find their position at sea, participants instead rely on navigating by the sun and stars and simple speed calculations.

Racers don't do it for the money. The prize of 5,000 pounds (about $6,045) is the same as it was in the 1960s and is not even enough to cover entry fees. The real lure is the challenge.

"The single-handed aspect was the one that drew me," Neuschafer, who is from South Africa, says of her decision to enter.

"I really like the aspect of sailing by celestial navigation, sailing old school," she says, adding that she's always wanted to know "what it would have been like back then when you didn't have all the modern technology at your fingertips."

Satellite phones are allowed, but only for communication with race officials and the occasional media interview. Each boat has collision-avoidance alarms and a GPS tracker, but entrants can't view their position data. There's a separate GPS for navigation, but it's sealed and only for emergencies. Its use can lead to disqualification. Entrants are permitted to use radios to communicate with each other and with passing ships. They're allowed to briefly anchor, but not get off the boat nor have anyone aboard. And no one is allowed to give them supplies or assistance.

The race motto, "Sailing like it's 1968," alludes to the fact that it's essentially a reboot of a competition first put on that year by the British Sunday Times newspaper. In it, nine sailors started, and only one, Britain's Robin Knox-Johnston , managed to complete the first-ever nonstop, solo circumnavigation, finishing in 312 days. Despite leading at one point, French sailor Bernard Moitessier elected to abandon the race in an effort, he said, to "save my soul." Yet another, British sailor Donald Crowhurst , died by suicide after apparently stepping off his boat.

Bringing the race back in 2018 for its 50th anniversary was the brainchild of Australian sailor and adventurer Don McIntyre, who describes the competition as "an absolute extreme mind game that entails total isolation, physical effort ... skill, experience and sheer guts."

"That sets it apart from everything," he says.

For sailors, it's the Mount Everest of the sea

Neuschafer, 40, is a veteran of the stormy waters she's presently sailing, having worked as a charter skipper in Patagonia, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica. Although she's been around Cape Horn before, this time is different, she says.

Previously she's been around "the Horn" when she could choose the conditions. But nonstop from the Pacific, with limited weather information, "I'd say, it's a notch up on anxiety. It's almost like ... trying to reach the peak of Everest," she says.

Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen's boat sank in November off the southern tip of Africa. He was rescued with the help of fellow racer Kirsten Neuschafer. Aida Valceanu/GGR2022 hide caption

Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen's boat sank in November off the southern tip of Africa. He was rescued with the help of fellow racer Kirsten Neuschafer.

Probably the most harrowing moment so far in this year's race came in November, when Neuschafer sailed 100 miles, staying at Minnehaha's helm through the night to rescue Finland's Tapio Lehtinen — one of the finishers in the 2018 race. She plucked him from a life raft some 24 hours after his boat, Asteria, sank in the southern Indian Ocean.

For the rescue, race officials broke protocol and allowed her to use GPS and gave her a time credit on the race. "I basically sailed throughout the night and by morning I got within range of him," she says.

Spotting Lehtinen's tiny life raft amid 10-foot waves was far from easy, Neuschafer says. "He could see ... my sail [but] I couldn't see him, not for the life of me." She later managed to transfer him to a freighter.

That incident reinforced for her how things could change at any moment. In the Golden Globe, she says, "a large proponent of it is luck."

The days can be serene, but also isolating

The drama of such days at sea is offset by others spent in relative peace. A typical day, if there is such a thing, starts just before sunrise, she says, "a good time to get the time signal on the radio so that I can synchronize my watches," which she needs for accurate celestial navigation.

"Then ... I'll have a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, and then I'll wait for the sun to be high enough that I can take a reasonable [sextant] sight." A walk around the deck to see if anything is amiss and perhaps a bit of reading — currently it's The Bookseller of Kabul by Norwegian journalist and author Asne Seierstad — before another sight at noon to check her position.

Or perhaps some music. It's all on cassette, since competitors aren't allowed a computer of any kind. As a result, she's listening to a lot of '80s artists, "good music that I ordinarily wouldn't listen to," she says.

The isolation was more difficult for American Elliott Smith, who at 27 was the youngest entrant in this year's race. He dropped out in Australia due to rigging failure.

Elliott Smith, a 27-year-old originally from Tampa, Fla. A rigging failure forced him to quit in Australia. Simon McDonnell/FBYC hide caption

Elliott Smith, a 27-year-old originally from Tampa, Fla. A rigging failure forced him to quit in Australia.

Reached in the Australian port city of Fremantle, the surfer-turned-sailor from Florida says he doesn't entirely rule out another try at the race in four years. But for now, he's put his boat, Second Wind, up for sale. He seems circumspect about the future.

"It was really obvious that I stopped enjoying the sailing at some point," he confides about the rigors of the race. "There were moments ... where I found myself never going outside unless I had to. I was like, 'I'm just staying in the cabin. I'm just reading. I'm miserable.' "

Smith says there were days when he would see an albatross, but was too mentally exhausted to appreciate the beauty of it. "I was like, 'This is so sad, you know?' Like, I've become complacent [about] something that most people would never even try, you know?"

Neuschafer, too, has had her share of frustrations. The latest was a broken spinnaker pole, which keeps her from setting twin forward sails on the 36-foot-long Minnehaha — her preferred setup for running downwind.

She's looking forward to finishing in early spring. But first, she still has to traverse the entire Atlantic Ocean from south to north.

"I'll get off and enjoy feeling the land beneath my feet." After that, she says, "the first thing I'd like to do is eat ice cream."

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Who is Kirsten Neuschäfer and Where is She Sailing?

By: Zeke Quezada, ASA women on the water

The Golden Globe Race is currently winding down, and the sailors are headed back to Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. In fact, they are a few days out from returning.  The race is fairly basic in nature as it began in  Les Sables-d’Olonne, France, on September 4th, 2022, and the contestants sail solo, non-stop, around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Les Sables-d’Olonne.  The Golden Globe Race is a true test of endurance, skill, and courage.  The challenges faced by the sailors are what make this race so unique and revered. 

16 sailors began and currently, 3 are left.

One of them is Kirsten Neuschäfer.

Who is Kirsten Neuschäfer?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kirsten Neuschafer (@kirstenggr)

Kirsten has been a sailor since childhood, but turned it into a profession in 2006. From boat deliveries to crewing she built a diverse set of skills in the sailing arena.  Before the Golden Globe Race in 2018, Kirsten’s longest solo sailing trip was a delivery from Portugal to South Africa on an old and maintenance-intensive 32-foot ferro-cement sloop, using only a wind-vane for self-steering.

She joined Skip Novak’s Pelagic Expeditions and sailed the crew to South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, Patagonia, and the Falklands, to capture the beauty of the Antarctic for National Geographic and the BBC. Kirsten has also embarked on other solo adventures, such as cycling from Europe back home to South Africa. Her current challenge is the Golden Globe Race 2022.

Kirsten Neuschäfer was awarded the Rod Stephens Seamanship Trophy for playing a pivotal role in the successful rescue of a fellow 2022 Golden Globe Race competitor, Tapio Lehtinen.

Find out more about Kirsten on her website: https://kirstenggr.com/

What is The Golden Globe Race

The Golden Globe Race is a solo, nonstop yacht race around the world with no assistance and without the use of modern technology. The original Golden Globe Race was the first race around the world solo without stops or any outside assistance. The race was organized by the Sunday Times newspaper in Great Britain and was held in 1968. The race was inspired by Sir Francis Chichester’s successful single-handed circumnavigation of the globe in his yacht Gipsy Moth IV.

A Few Facts About The Golden Globe Race:

• Entrants are limited to sailing similar yachts and equipment to what was available to Sir Robin in that first race.
• Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 – 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 that have a full-length keel with a rudder attached to their trailing edge.
• The challenge is pure and very raw, placing adventure ahead of winning at all costs.
• Competitors will be navigating with sextant only.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Golden Globe Race (@goldengloberace)

The 1968 Golden Globe Race was won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who completed the race in just over 312 days. The race has been reborn with a round-the-world race held in 2018, attempting to capture the nature of those early intrepid sailors. The 2018 event was a success, inspiring the current edition in September 2022.

The Golden Globe Race is one of the most challenging sailing races in the world. The sailors must navigate their way around the world without any outside assistance and without using modern technology such as GPS or satellite phones. They must rely on traditional navigation methods such as sextants and paper charts. The sailors must also deal with extreme weather conditions such as storms and high seas. They must be self-sufficient for months at a time, carrying all their food and supplies on board their yachts.

Track the race at their website: https://goldengloberace.com/

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Published on August 17th, 2024 | by Editor

Small yachts for round the world race

Published on August 17th, 2024 by Editor -->

The McIntyre Mini Globe Race (MGR) will commence on February 23, marking the beginning of a 13-month round the world race for Class Globe 5.80 yachts. Home-built from plywood on timber frames and coated in glass epoxy, 5.80 refers to its length in meters (19-feet) which is compact enough to fit in a 20ft container.

Conceived by Australian adventurer Don McIntyre, the idea emerged during his 2010 adventure sailing 4000-mile across the Pacific in an open timber whale boat with very little food, water and no charts, recreating William Bligh’s Mutiny on the Bounty journey.

McIntyre, in collaboration with Polish designer Janusz Maderski, launched the one-design class in 2019, offering simple construction plans for €300. Builders can also opt for a CNC pre-cut plywood kit, supported by an active online builder’s community. Currently, over 80 yachts are in various stages of completion, with about 20 in the water and another 140 builders with plans.

“The MGR, like the Golden Globe Race, will be a voyage of attrition,” said McIntyre. “I have great faith in the sailors, the boats, and the meticulous planning that has gone into this event over the past five years. The Globe 580 yachts are robust, safe and fun to sail, offering an affordable challenge.”

In an age where technology and Euro 20 mill can send a solo sailor around the world in 40 days, a fleet of courageous mini sailors will show it can be done for less that Euro 50,000 over many days! Sixteen men and two women from 11 countries will navigate 28,000 miles solo around the world in identical, cramped plywood mini yachts, pushing the limits of what many believe to be possible.

Before the main event, participants must complete a solo 3,600-mile qualifying race, solo across the Atlantic. This journey begins on December 28, 2024, from Marina de Lagos in Portugal, continues to Marina Rubicon in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, and concludes at the National Sailing Academy, Antigua.

The race begins and ends at the National Sailing Academy, Antigua. The first leg takes sailors to Shelter Bay Marina, Panama, where yachts will be transported overland to the Pacific Ocean. The second leg, starting on March 23, 2025, covers 6,500 miles to VUDA Marina in Fiji, with mandatory pit stops in the Marquesas, Tahiti, and Tonga. Each pit stop requires an eight-day minimum stay, allowing sailors to rest and make repairs.

The third leg spans 10,000 miles to Cape Town, South Africa, with stops in Darwin, Mauritius, and Durban. Given the challenging weather conditions and the notorious Agulhas current, an additional ten days of pit stops are allowed. The fourth and final leg of 7000 miles begins on December 22, 2025, with stops in St. Helena and Recife, Brazil, before the final sprint back to Antigua, expected by late March 2026.

This McIntyre Mini Globe follows in the footsteps of John Guzzwell, who set off in Sept 1955 to become first person to sail a small yacht, his home-built Laurent Giles designed 20’ 6’ “TREKKA” solo around the world. McIntyre has great confidence in the Class Globe 580’s capabilities. He built and raced a Class Globe 580, named “TREKKA”, solo across the Atlantic in 2021, proving the yacht’s endurance and suitability for such a demanding race.

Sailors must undergo survival and medical training, comprehensive medical checks, and stress tests. Safety equipment adheres to world-class standards, detailed in the official Notice of Race.

Restrictions include the prohibition of electronic wind instruments and logs, limited 200-amp battery and 200-watt solar panel capacity, and only electric outboard motors. Hydro generators and desalinators are not allowed. Sailors can make unpenalized stops, but the race clock continues to run, and YB3 satellite trackers provide 24-hour monitoring for everyone on the MGR website.

Unlike other solo races, MGR entrants sail as independent voyagers, with each sailor responsible for their voyage plan, logistics, and safety management, overseen by individually appointed safety managers. These managers’ report to MGR event management but maintain primary responsibility for their sailors around the clock.

“Ten years ago, I set out to bring back affordable, human around the world racing that was truly sustainable for all sailors, where money and speed at all costs is not the driving force. All three events – Golden Globe Race, Ocean Globe Race, and now MGR – are epic human stories.”

Event information – yacht details – Facebook

Source: MGR

Tags: Class Globe 5.80 , Mini Globe Race

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Cruising Cat Racing Franco Style

• By Herb McCormick
• August 20, 2024

The French are different from us. After years of covering offshore sailing, particularly the shorthanded scene, that’s always been my take. What event could possibly be more French than the Vendée Globe, the quadrennial nonstop solo race around the planet on foiling IMOCA 60 rockets that’s front-page news in France for months on end, mainly because impending catastrophes and daring Southern Ocean rescues are seemingly daily occurrences? From ports along the Brittany coast and elsewhere, this nation produces the best ocean-racing specialists, and in my opinion, the greatest among them is ironman Francis Joyon, who holds or has held almost every major voyaging record, including winning the Jules Verne Trophy in 2017 for circling the globe in just over 40 days.

Surprisingly, given their prowess across multiple racing venues, the French have always mounted horrible America’s Cup campaigns, but even there, they’ve put their personal stamp on it. When ballpoint-pen magnate Baron Bich was consistently getting smoked in his four challenges during the 12-Metre days, the old joke was we could always tell that the French were about to tack when the crew flicked their ­cigarettes over the side.

All that said, other than ­occasional boat reviews with French sailboat manufacturers, I’d never really gone ­sailing with an all-French squad. That changed early this past February, when I score a ride with legendary competitor Marc Guillemot and his team for a day of racing off St. Maarten in the annual Caribbean Multihull Challenge Race and Rally. I’m eager to discover if the French boys are really playing the game differently. 

Guillemot has enjoyed a long and productive career, the ­highlight of which was his third-place win in the 2008 Vendée aboard his IMOCA 60, Safran. Now in this mid-60s, his latest boat is a Christophe Barreau-designed 53-foot MG5 catamaran called Dazelad , roughly translated as “alternative” in English, as a nod to its innovative carbon construction and upcycled components.  

“He’s won a lot of stuff and wanted his own personal boat, his home; it’s not about sponsors,” says French yachting journalist Emmanuel van Deth, who’d hooked me up with Guillemot. “It’s a compromise, so he can cruise with friends or race with friends.”

As a compromised “retirement” vessel that Guillemot plans to charter occasionally to offset expenses, it’s still pretty quick: He nabbed an impressive third place on its maiden voyage in the 2022 Route du Rhum.

Like jockeys and movie stars, it’s always a little jarring to meet French solo sailors in person; Joyon is a certified beast, but most of them are of rather diminutive stature, as is Guillemot. His English is spotty (but way better than my French), but he has an easy, elfin smile, and an extremely laid-back demeanor. I like him immediately. His extremely cool boat, in spirit and execution, is a crazy work of nautical art, the sum of many disparate parts.

Guillemot conducts a quick tour, which is fascinating. Much of the gear is stuff he scavenged from Safran. But that is just the start of it. It is in many ways a history of and tribute to the French singlehanded racing scene, with contributions from Guillemot’s many IMOCA pals. The rudder is from one of Jérémie Beyou’s old boats; Damien Seguin supplied the daggerboards; the running rigging is off Loick Peyron’s Gitana ; Jean Le Cam donated an old spar. If Frankenstein’s monster were a boat, it would be Dazelad.

The crew of close friends, including Guillemot’s brother, Regis, who dinghies over from his big cruising cat, is also notable. Longtime pro sailor and sailing writer Nicolas Raynaud is a jolly, Falstaffian character with a ready laugh and a twinkle in his eye who definitely seems like a kindred soul.

His polar opposite is ­tactician Bruno Jourdren, quiet and studious, who’d suffered a serious accident in his youth that had permanently damaged his right arm; he sails with his hand always in his pocket. A three-time Paralympic sailor, he has also cleaned up in dedicated one-design classes such as the Melges 24, where he is a former national champion.

Before the day’s first race, Guillemot and Jourdren, huddled prerace over an iPad with the sailing instructions, are clearly very tight. Van Deth speaks of the latter in almost reverential terms: “They call Michel Desjoyeaux ‘the ­professor’ because of his navigational approach, but when it comes to tactics, Bruno is also considered an academic. If he says, ‘Go left,’ you go left. You do not question him.”

The most I can get out of Jourdren is a raised eyebrow, which is pretty much in keeping with all the previous professors in my life.

It is a strange day, weather-­wise, for the Caribbean; the generally pumping, reliable easterly trade winds are on hiatus, replaced by an unusual northwest breeze of 10 knots. With a downwind start, there is a short debate about the merits of an asymmetric kite versus a code zero headsail, with the latter getting the call. I am relegated to the foredeck with Regis and Van Deth to furl and then unfurl the code zero through tacks and jibes. Foolishly, I’ve brought only flip-flops, thinking I’d sail barefoot, as I often do in the islands. But the trampolines on Dazelad are like razor wire, and footwear is a must. Rookie mistake.

Thanks to the headsail discussion, we are slightly late for the start, but once the code zero is sheeted home and Dazelad begins manufacturing its own apparent wind, we take off, easily notching 12-plus knots, and Desjoyeaux carves through the pack and picks off the competition (though there was no catching the HH66 and Gunboat 66 at the front of the fleet). The French are cooking.

There is a refreshing squall on the last tack to the finish line in a race with a little bit of everything, including a couple of lulls in the breeze. Guillemot seems pleased and philosophical with the midfleet result. “Under 12 knots [of wind], not so good,” he says. “Twelve or more, that’s when we go.”

The sun pops out and the breeze pipes up for Race 2, and Dazelad is in jailbreak mode off the starting line, ripping around the racecourse with average speeds in the midteens. The cat spins through tacks and jibes like a Hobie, and noticeably accelerates in every puff. The results aren’t any different from the first race, but the ­sailing itself is fantastic.

And then comes lunch. In this aspect of actual French cooking, there is no question that they will raise the bar. Raynaud has effortlessly whipped together a fresh pasta dish brimming with cucumbers, melons, avocado and cheese that is nothing less than magnificent. An obligatory break for a cigarette caps off the meal. Très bien, mon ami.

It is apparently an inspiring repast as Guillemot crushes the start for the third and final contest of the day. At this stage, spinning around the same triangle course off the southern coast of St. Maarten, the entire exercise is beginning to feel a little like Groundhog Day. By this time, however, we’ve become a pretty well-honed team, and our maneuvers are fairly flawless, if I do say so myself. For this race, the only cats ahead of us at the end are the pair of 66-footers. In surfing, it’s often been said that the best surfer is the one who’s having the most fun. If that’s also the case in sailboat racing, Dazelad is the day’s clear-cut winner. Raynaud, who is rapidly becoming my idol, passes out cold beers all around.

And then, at the literal end of the day, Guillemot and his mates hastily put away the boat. They have another important appointment. The French rugby team is about to play an international match with Ireland, and they are eager to get to a bar in Marigot on the island’s French side to watch the action. Yes, they are on their merry way to guzzle brews and basically watch football. Hmm. That’s when it hits me: Maybe these French dudes aren’t so ­different from us after all.

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Associate Professor Tristan Cai has Solo Exhibiton in Greece

Associate Professor of Photography Tristan Cai opened a solo exhibition, "Imagined Spectres ,"  at the Ionion Center for the Arts and Culture, Kefalonia, Greece. The exhibition showcases the imagined landscapes of primordial earth and the much-hyped sightings of pink snow in alpine environments. Cai presents these wondrous phenomena with large-scale photographs as well as an immersive video installation of the microscopic world of red algae cells obtained from a single drop of melted snow.

The project also highlights the media hubris around science reporting, characterized by sensationalizing and weaponizing scientific discoveries. This project is made possible with funding from the Pandion haliaetus professorship. The exhibition opened July 16 and runs through August 31.