golden globe yacht race 2022

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Latest News: 2026 Golden Globe Race – Two years to go!

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The third edition of the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race started from Les Sables-d'Olonne in France on 4 September 2022.

On 4 September 2022, 17 skippers departed Les Sables d’Olonne for a 30,000-mile nine month race around the world in the third edition of the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.

After 233 days, 20 hours, 43 minutes and 47 seconds, South African Kirsten Neuschäfer crossed the finish line as the winner, among only three to complete the race.

She became the first woman to win a round the world race by the three great capes, and the first South African sailor to win a round the world event!

Following the race, Kirsten earned many awards and accolades as a result of her win, as well as her involvement in the successful rescue of fellow skipper Tapio Lehtinen. Some of these include The 2023 Rolex World Sailor of the Year , Sailor of the Year and Outstanding Achievement of the Year at the British Yachting Awards , Sportswoman of the Year at the SA Sport Awards and The Cruising Club of America's prestigious Blue Water Medal . The race itself won Event of the Year at the British Yachting Awards .

You can follow the 2022 story from the news section of this website. All 2022 press releases and newsletters telling the complete story are there. All 2022 video lives are on the G°G°R YouTube channel . All 2022 weekly entrant sat phone calls are recorded on the G°G°R SoundCloud .

The 2022 G°G°R kept millions around the world enthralled from day one. Emotions ran high, month after month, and the G°G°R following grew every day. The release of the Meltwater 2022 G°G°R media analysis and equivalent advertising/PR value of €213 million reflects that following.

2022 Skippers

Aleix Selles Vidal

• Nationality: Spanish
• Country of Entry: SPAIN
• Boat: Rustler 36

Arnaud Gaist

• Nationality: French
• Country of Entry: FRANCE
• Boat: Barbican 33 MKII (Long Keel Version)

Damien Guillou

• Boat: Rustler 36 Masthead Sloop

Daniel Gatt

• Nationality: Maltese
• Country of Entry: MALTA

David Scott Cowper

• Nationality: British
• Country of Entry: UNITED KINGDOM
• Boat: Tradewind 35 Cutter

Duncan Cameron

Edward Walentynowicz

• Nationality: Canadian
• Country of Entry: CANADA

Elliott Smith

• Nationality: American
• Country of Entry: USA
• Boat: Gale Force 34

Gaurav Shinde

• Boat: Baba 35

Graham Dalton

• Nationality: New Zealander
• Country of Entry: NEW ZEALAND

Guido Cantini

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

• Boat: Tashiba 36 1986

• Boat: Tradewind 35 Masthead Sloop

Ian Herbert-Jones

Jeremy Bagshaw

• Nationality: South African
• Country of Entry: SOUTH AFRICA
• Boat: OE32 Masthead Cutter

John Clarke

• Boat: Nicholson Sloop

Kirsten Neuschäfer

• Boat: Cape George Cutter, CG36

Marc Cambounet

Matthew Wright

• Nationality: Australian
• Country of Entry: AUSTRALIA

Michael Date

• Boat: Aries 32

Michael Davey

• Boat: Cape Dory 36

Michael Guggenberger

• Nationality: Austrian
• Country of Entry: AUSTRIA
• Boat: Biscay 36 Masthead Ketch

• Nationality: Australian / South African
• Boat: Atkins Eric 32 Suhaili Replica

Pat Lawless

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

Robin Davie

Simon Curwen

• Boat: Biscay 36

Abhilash Tomy

• Nationality: Indian
• Country of Entry: INDIA

Ertan Beskardes

Mark Sinclair

• Boat: Lello 34 Masthead Sloop

Tapio Lehtinen

• Nationality: Finnish
• Country of Entry: FINLAND
• Boat: Gaia 36 Masthead Sloop

2022 Tracker

2022 timeline.

• Sep 6, 2022 - Bay of Biscay Damien Guillou reports issues with his Hydrovane and decides to return to LSO to fix it.
• Sep 8, 2022 - Bay of Biscay Edward Walentynowicz retires from race due to personal reasons.
• Sep 14, 2022 Guy deBoer reports that he has narrowly avoided collision with a fishing vessel off the Spanish coast by only 5 metres.
• Sep 16, 2022 - Lanzarote Simon Curwen is first to pass the Lanzarote Film Gate.
• Sep 17, 2022 - Lanzarote Tapio Lehtinen is 2nd to pass Lanzarote Gate. Pat Lawless is 3rd to pass Lanzarote Gate. Abhilash Tomy is 4th to pass Lanzarote Gate.
• Sep 18, 2022 - Lanzarote Guy deBoer is 5th to pass Lanzarote Gate. Kirsten Neuschäfer is 6th to pass Lanzarote Gate. Guy Waites is 7th to pass Lanzarote Gate. Michael Guggenberger is 8th to pass Lanzarote Gate. Ertan Beskardes is 9th to pass Lanzarote Gate. Jeremy Bagshaw is 10th to pass Lanzarote Gate.
• Sep 18, 2022 - Fuerteventura Guy deBoer crashes into rocks at night on the north coast of Fuerteventura, Las Palmas in the Canaries. He fell asleep shortly after passing the Lanzarote film gate, not noticing a windshift that caught him on a leeshore.
• Sep 19, 2022 - Lanzarote Elliott Smith is 11th to pass Lanzarote Gate.
• Sep 20, 2022 - Lanzarote Ian Herbert-Jones is 12th to pass Lanzarote Gate.
• Sep 22, 2022 - Lanzarote Damien Guillou is 13th to pass Lanzarote Gate.
• Sep 23, 2022 - Lanzarote Mark Sinclair "Captain Coconut" officially retires from the race at Lanzarote.
• Sep 24, 2022 - Lanzarote Arnaud Gaist is 14th to pass Lanzarote Gate.
• Oct 6, 2022 - Equator Simon Curwen first to cross the equator.
• Oct 9, 2022 Guy Waites reports that the hull of Sagarmatha is covered with barnacles.
• Oct 12, 2022 - Trindade Simon Curwen reports: "Bit of drama overnight. Genoa halyard parted."
• Oct 20, 2022 - Trindade Damien Guillou rang the GGR office to report his Hydrovane self steering gear main shaft has broken. He has the parts to repair it but needs flat water.
• Oct 22, 2022 Guy Waites Reports that Rio is not transmitting Weather Fax anymore, just like others have reported. No weather info!
• Oct 23, 2022 Damien Guillou called Race Control to report that he was able to repair his windvane.
• Oct 27, 2022 Ian Herbert-Jones reports that he has "2nd day without wind since passing Trindade. OK but fed up" - light, shifting winds have been a big challenge for the GGR 2022 fleet across the entire Atlantic.
• Oct 28, 2022 Guy Waites informs Race Control that he is heading towards Punta del Este to haul out the boat and clean the hull. Simon Curwen reports that one of his solar panels has packed up.
• Nov 1, 2022 Abhilash Tomy notes that "ten years ago, on this date, I had set off on India's first single-handed non-stop circumnavigation under sail".
• Nov 3, 2022 Guy Waites sends message: "Forget Itajaí, trying to keep the race alive!"
• Nov 6, 2022 - Cape Town Simon Curwen is first to pass the Cape Town Film Gate.
• Nov 7, 2022 Pat Lawless reports "My Aries self steering is broken. I am on sheet to tiller since last night". He confirmed that he has made a satellite call to his wife and will retire from the GGR in Cape Town.
• Nov 8, 2022 - Cape Town Kirsten Neuschäfer is 2nd to pass Cape Town Gate. Elliott Smith has lost his one and only spinnaker.
• Nov 9, 2022 - Cape Town Tapio Lehtinen is 3rd to pass Cape Town Gate. Message from Abhilash Tomy : "deleting all my footage. to save my soul."
• Nov 10, 2022 - Cape Town Pat Lawless arrives in Cape Town, retiring from the GGR.
• Nov 10, 2022 - Cape Town Abhilash Tomy is 4th to pass Cape Town Gate, giving a surprising interview. Damien Guillou is 5th to pass Cape Town Gate.
• Nov 12, 2022 - Cape Town Michael Guggenberger is 6th to pass Cape Town Gate. Damien Guillou called GGR control to report the loss of his Hydrovane rudder around midday. He is heading back to Cape Town, considering all options.
• Nov 14, 2022 - Cape Town Damien Guillou arrives at Cape Town marina, officially retiring from the GGR.
• Nov 16, 2022 - Cape Town After passing the Cape Town Gate in 7th place, Ertan Beskardes surprisingly announces that he his retiring from the GGR. Quote: "I was looking for the unknown and I found the unknown!"
• Nov 16, 2022 - Cape Town Abhilash Tomy receives the news via radio and messages "we are 8000000000 humans on earth today" - a suprising fact, if you have been alone at sea for over a month.
• Nov 17, 2022 - Cape Town Jeremy Bagshaw is 8th to pass Cape Town Gate.
• Nov 18, 2022 - 39. 06.07 S 03.20 44.1E Race Control receives Distress Alert for 'ASTERIA' from MRCC Cape Town, followed by Liferaft PLB Alert. Tapio Lehtinen reports after the rescue that Asteria has sunk within 20 minutes. Race Control closely cooperates with the MRCC to coordinate the rescue, deviating Abhilash Tomy and Kirsten Neuschäfer , who were closest to Tapio's position.
• Nov 19, 2022 Kirsten Neuschäfer was first to arrive at scene and rescued Tapio Lehtinen from his liferaft. They shared a glass of rum before he was transferred to a bulk carrier bound for Jakarta.
• Nov 20, 2022 - Cape Town Elliott Smith is 9th to pass Cape Town Gate.
• Nov 22, 2022 Elliott Smith called Race Control to advise his bow sprit has broken in half. He has secured the mast and rig and is heading for False Bay for repair. He also broke all compasses except for one hand bearing compass.
• Nov 24, 2022 - Cape Town Ian Herbert-Jones is 10th to pass Cape Town Gate Arnaud Gaist reports to race control that he has a mast and rigging issue that makes it unsafe to sail to windward for now.
• Nov 25, 2022 Elliott Smith was able to fix his bow sprit and is back racing!
• Nov 28, 2022 During his weekly call, Guy Waites tells race control that he cannot clean the hull of barnacles while sailing and that he will pull into Cape Town to haul out the boat. Race Control decides to compensate Kirsten Neuschäfer and Abhilash Tomy for the rescue of Tapio Lehtinen : Kirsten Neuschäfer with 35 hours + 30 litres of fuel and Abhilash Tomy with 12hrs.
• Nov 29, 2022 Abhilash Tomy reported a problem with his windvane. The servo pendulum shaft holding the rudder sheared off. This was an easy fix as he carries a complete spare system onboard to strip for spares. He has fitted exactly the same part again.
• Dec 1, 2022 Kirsten Neuschäfer breaks all fleet records: Best speed over 4 hours at 9.8 knots, best distance over 24 hours at 218.9 nautical miles, and best distance over 7 days at 1143.7 nautical miles.
• Dec 1, 2022 Arnaud Gaist messages Race Control that "with the barnacles and my weakness in the mast, it would be Cape Horn in April :( I divert to St Helene and return to Les Sables". He retires from the GGR.
• Dec 7, 2022 Tapio Lehtinen deboarded the Bulk Carrier in Jakarta and is back on land, heading directly back to Finland.
• Dec 12, 2022 Ian Herbert-Jones , Jeremy Bagshaw and Michael Guggenberger are facing their first big southern ocean storm, gusting above 45 knots with big seas.
• Dec 14, 2022 - Cape Town Guy Waites arrives in Cape Town and is hauling out Sagarmatha to remove barnacles and apply new antifouling.
• Dec 16, 2022 - South of Australia Simon Curwen unknowingly sails directly into the centre of a high pressure system, allowing Kirsten Neuschäfer and Abhilash Tomy to catch up, reducing trailing distances by nearly 400 miles.
• Dec 18, 2022 Elliott Smith called Race Control to report that his bowsprit has bent up again. He was able to secure the mast and is assessing the situation, hoping to make repairs as soon as the weather calms down.
• Dec 19, 2022 Guy Waites ' Sagarmatha is back in the water and ready to set sail. But unfavourable headwinds are forcing him to wait in Cape Town until the wind shifts.
• Dec 19, 2022 Elliott Smith called Race Control to report that he went up and down the mast more than 10 times to shorten the forestay and bypass the broken bowsprit. However, due to heavy rolling, he lost many spare parts including a spare stay over the side, unable to make any further repairs. He will continue sailing west towards Fremantle or Albany under reduced sails and retire from the race.
• Dec 20, 2022 Abhilash Tomy breaks 7-day record - 1165 miles in one week - just before he needs to replace his split mainsail with an older mainsail.
• Dec 22, 2022 - Cape Town Guy Waites sets sail again with a clean hull, trying the impossible to get to Hobart before the gate closes on Jan 31, 2023.
• Dec 23, 2022 - Hobart Simon Curwen is first to pass the Hobart Film Gate.
• Dec 25, 2022 - Hobart Kirsten Neuschäfer is 2nd to pass the Hobart Film Gate.
• Dec 27, 2022 - Hobart Abhilash Tomy is 3rd to pass the Hobart Film Gate. He stayed a full night after a tiring upwind battle toward Kingston Beach.
• Jan 2, 2023 - Hobart Michael Guggenberger is 4th to pass the Hobart Film Gate. 'Capt. Gugg' stayed two nights to rest, catch up with his team and do small repairs.
• Jan 16, 2023 - Hobart Jeremy Bagshaw is 5th to pass the Hobart Film Gate and decides to move to Chichester Class to sort out barnacles, water and food.
• Jan 18, 2023 - Hobart Ian Herbert-Jones is 6th to pass the Hobart Film Gate.
• Jan 19, 2023 - Fremantle, Australia Elliott Smith lands in Fremantle on 19 January after 5000 miles under jury rig. He had broken his bowsprit off the South African coast and lost his spare forestay overboard after trying to repair at sea. He continued under staysail and double-reefed main, with the rig supported by the inner forestay and backstay, but did not have time to repair and get through the Hobart gate closing before 31st January.
• Jan 20, 2023 - Hobart, Australia Jeremy Bagshaw resumes the race in Chichester Class.
• Jan 27, 2023 - NW of Cape Horn Simon Curwen 's hydrovane got damaged at the top mounting after suffering a potential knock-down in a Southern Ocean storm with large seas. He is continuing towards Cape Horn while working on a repair plan. He has not received any outside assistance at this time and remains to be the leader of the fleet.
• Jan 31, 2023 - South Pacific Abhilash Tomy reports pain in his lower back after helming for many hours and calls his doctor. He suffered a severe back injury during the 2018 GGR.
• Feb 3, 2023 - Great Australian Bight Guy Waites lost his liferaft after a knock-down in strong winds and big seas south of Australia. He is heading for Hobart to replace the essential equipment.
• Feb 4, 2023 - South Pacific Michael Guggenberger enters the Pacific Southern Ocean exclusion zone for 1.5 hours, resulting in a 4.5 hour time penalty.
• Feb 7, 2023 - 1000nm NW of Cape Horn Kirsten Neuschäfer and Abhilash Tomy experience a massive low pressure system with up to 65 knots and 10m swell. Kirsten's Minnehaha, placed a bit further north, has no major incidents to report, while Abhilash's Bayanat suffered two knock-downs without damage.
• Feb 8, 2023 - 1000nm NW of Cape Horn Simon Curwen arrives at Puerto Montt to repair his windvane and sprayhood.
• Feb 10, 2023 - Hobart Guy Waites arrives in Hobart to get a new liferaft.
• Feb 14, 2023 - Isla Guaitecas Forced by a strong gale from south-west, Simon Curwen seeks shelter in an anchorage to wait for a better weather window before heading towards Cape Horn.
• Feb 15, 2023 - 300nm NW of Cape Horn Abhilash Tomy reports that he has lost his last pendulum rudder for his windvane, sailing with leashed tiller. He also reports that his deck got punctured from the windturbines after 'going underwater again'.
• Feb 15, 2023 - Cape Horn At approximately 20:20 UTC Kirsten Neuschäfer is first around Cape Horn, being the first woman ever to lead an offshore around the world race.
• Feb 18, 2023 - Cape Horn Abhilash Tomy is second around the Horn, 10 years and 23 days after his last rounding!
• Mar 15, 2023 - Cape Horn Jeremy Bagshaw rounds the Horn for the first time. He saw some of the lights but didn't manage to see the outline of the Horn. Sitting in the cockpit with a big grin on his face. During his call with Don today he sounded upbeat and keen to start moving further north.
• Mar 20, 2023 - Cape Horn Ian Herbert-Jones approaches Cape Horn in extreme conditions with a broken windvane, after days of "biblical" conditions. With a drogue warp wrapped around the Hydrovane rudder, causing it to snap in half, he decides to stop for repairs before continuing. He is officially moved into Chichester Class.
• Apr 10, 2023 - Southern Atlantic Ian Herbert-Jones messages Race Control in storm gusting over 90kt with confused sea. He is rolled over, dismasted, with water in the boat, an injured back and gashed head. Ian decides to activate his EPIRB so that the search and rescue chain would be aware of his position and situation.
• Apr 11, 2023 - Southern Atlantic Rescue of Ian Herbert-Jones is underway. Taiwanese fishing vessel, the ZI DA WANG, 90 miles away, is diverted to his position with an ETA at 1900 UTC.
• Apr 11, 2023 - Southern Atlantic Of the three fishing vessels routing towards Puffin, ZI DA WANG is the first vessel on scene at 1830 UTC. Transfer of Ian Herbert-Jones from Puffin to ZI DA WANG is successful in 25kt wind and 4m sea. Now bound for Cape Town.
• April 27, 2023 - Les Sables d'Olonne Simon Curwen in Chichester Class on board Clara/Howdens was the first home in Les Sables d’Olonne.
• April 27, 2023 - Les Sables d'Olonne At 19:43:47 on Thursday 27th of April, Kirsten Neuschäfer and Minnehaha cross the GGR finish line to win the Golden Globe Race in 233d 18h 43m 47s.
• April 29, 2023 - Les Sables d'Olonne Abhilash Tomy secures an outstanding second-place finish, crossing the finish line in Bayanat at 06:46hr.
• May 12, 2023 - Les Sables d'Olonne Michael Guggenberger and Nuri cross the GGR finish line in third place at 07:42hr in Les Sables d’Olonne.
• May 19, 2023 Jeremy Bagshaw calls GGR on his sat phone to report the failure of his forestay at the stem fitting or bow chain plate.
• June 9, 2023 Jeremy Bagshaw crosses the line at 1633 UTC as the 5th and final finisher of GGR 2022, having spent 277 days at sea.