Author: Heather Mahady

Istvan Kopar set sail from Fort Lauderdale on July 4th, bound for France, aboard his Valiant 42, Surprise.

On Saturday, July 4th at 10 AM, Istvan Kopar cast off from Fort Lauderdale (Florida, USA) aboard Surprise, bound for Les Sables d’Olonne, France. It’s the first leg of a journey that will eventually become his fourth circumnavigation and one of the most ambitious solo sailing feats attempted in recent memory.

Once in France, Istvan will prepare for the true start of his adventure. On September 6th, he departs Les Sables d’Olonne at the same moment as the 2026 Golden Globe Race fleet, but where those competitors turn east toward the Cape of Good Hope, Istvan will point west toward Cape Horn. He’s calling it the Anniversary Challenge: a solo, non-stop, westbound circumnavigation timed to the 250th anniversary of the United States. Only eight sailors in history have completed a westbound non-stop circumnavigation solo, and none of them American.

Istvan expects the voyage to take 9 to 10 months. Thanks to Starlink, he’ll be able to share real-time video and photos along the way, so followers won’t have to wait for landfall to hear how it’s going. You can track his progress on Yellow Brick under Anniversary Challenge Solo Non Stop Westbound Circumnavigation, and follow along on his website, koparsailing.com and Facebook page.

A Global Effort Behind Every Stitch

This kind of voyage doesn’t come together in one loft. It takes a network.

Pat Considine, UK Sailmakers’ lead designer based out of our Chicago loft, designed the sail inventory for the boat, built to handle the sustained upwind punishment of a westbound passage. UK Sailmakers South Africa built the mainsail and genoa, while UK Sailmakers Miami handled the measurements and coordination of the entire project, and built the staysail as well as a custom mainsail mesh catch bag.

 

It’s a great example of what our international network does best: sailors around the world working together, sail by sail, to get one sailor safely around the globe.

If you want to hear more about Istvan’s story in his own words, from growing up sailing on Lake Balaton behind the Iron Curtain to his years in the Hungarian merchant marine and his 2018-19 Golden Globe Race finish, check out Episode 25 of our Lessons Learned Podcast, where he sat down with host Buttons Padin.

Fair winds, Istvan. We’ll be watching the tracker, and cheering you on!