–FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS OF 22 APRIL 2017–
2018 Golden Globe Race to start from Plymouth UK on Saturday June 30… 3 new entrants… 5 vacancies on entry list
The 2018 Golden Globe Race marking the 50th anniversary of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s victory in the Sunday Times Golden Globe solo non-stop round the world Race will start from Plymouth on Saturday June 30, 2018
THE START PROGRAMME
The Golden Globe Race is all about anniversaries. Today (Saturday April 22) marks the 48th year since Sir Robin Knox-Johnston won the Sunday Times Race and became the first man to sail solo non-stop around the Globe
Suhaili Parade of Sail
Thursday June 14 2018 will be the 50th anniversary of Sir Robin’s start in that race from Falmouth aboard his 32ft yacht Suhaili. The 30 skippers competing in the 2018 Golden Globe Race will join hundreds of other yachts in Falmouth Harbour with a sail-past salute to Sir Robin. Other historic yachts joining the commemoration include Sir Francis Chichester’s famous Gipsy Moth IV, Sir Alec Rose’s Lively Lady, a replica of Sir Chay Blyth’s original Golden Globe race yacht Dytiscus III and Joshua, which Frenchman Bernard Moitessier sailed in the original Sunday Times Race.
That night, the Royal Cornwall YC will host a Suhaili gala dinner where Sir Robin will be guest of honour.
SITraN Challenge charity race to Plymouth
Friday 15th June 2018 will see the Golden Globe yachts and historic fleet take part in the SITraN Challenge charity race from Falmouth to Plymouth, timed to finish in Queen Anne’s Battery Marina early that evening. SITraN (Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience) is the nominated charity for the GGR and is one of the world leading centres for research into Motor Neurone Disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. From basic neuroscience research to novel therapies and clinical trials – their aim is to improve the lives of patients with neurodegenerative disorders and their families worldwide. These diseases are affecting more and more people. See www.Sitran.org
Richard Gates, Falmouth Town Manager says: Falmouth looks forward to hosting the Parade of Sail recognising Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s significant achievement 50 years ago, in partnership with the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club and the Golden Globe Race. Next year promises to be a great spectacle out on the water. “
Plymouth host city for the 2018 Golden Globe Race start and finish
Plymouth has strong historic links not just with single-handed sailing, but the original Golden Globe Race. The City hosted the first Observer single-handed transatlantic race (won by Francis Chichester) in 1960, was the start and finish port for Chichester’s successful one-stop solo circumnavigation via Sydney, Australia in 1966/7, and also hosted four of the nine competitors in the Sunday Times race – French competitors Bernard Moitessier (Joshua) and Loic Fougeron (Captain Browne), Commander Bill King (Galway Blazer II) and Lieutenant Commander Nigel Tetley (Victress) when they set out on this 30,000 mile odyssey around the five Great Capes.
The Race village will open on Saturday 15th June with a parade of sail led by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili followed by Joshua, Dytiscus III, Lively Lady and Gipsy Moth IV, Entry to the Race village will be free and the attraction will be open to visitors from June 15 to the start on Saturday June 30.
Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the skippers, look down on their yachts, take a sail aboard Gipsy Moth IV, Joshua and Lively Lady, and view Suhaili and Dytiscus III on display in the marina. In addition, the Royal Western YC is to host an exhibition on the history of singlehanded sailing, and the National Marine Aquarium, which will form part of the Race Village, is planning special interactive exhibits for children, focused on climate change and the effect this is having on Coral reef health and marine bio-diversity.
Cllr Ian Bowyer Leader of Plymouth City Council says: “ We are delighted that Plymouth has been chosen as the host city for the Golden Globe race. This is a true adventure of a lifetime and I am really proud that Plymouth will be able to provide a spectacular backdrop to this event. The City has a proud and illustrious past in ocean racing which we are continuing to support and celebrate.”
John Lewis, The Royal Western Yacht Club’s Oceanic Race Director says: “This is great news for Plymouth and the Club which is the home of Single Handed Oceanic racing. We very much look forward to welcoming the competitors, their families and friends, before they start their epic voyage around the world. Plymouth continues to build on its enviable reputation to host major international sailing events”
Education programme.
Climate change and sustainment of the planet’s marine ecology are subjects close to the hearts of all the competitors and form a major part of a school education programme that will involve the National Maritime Aquarium, the McIntyre Adventure Marine Discovery Centre and the Open University.
As part of this, each skipper will nominate a school in their region of the world to partner with a school in Plymouth and will host classes from these schools at the Race Village prior to the start.
Nicola Murray, Head of Discovery and Learning says: “The National Marine Aquarium is a charity created to support and promote healthy oceans. Our world-class education programme facilitates curriculum based learning for 30,000 students annually, linking an array of subjects to the marine world. We work with Pre School to PhD students. The Golden Globe Race is an incredible event and our team are really excited about developing the Learning Programme and the opportunities it offers Britain’s Ocean City and students around the globe.”
Other attractions
During the 15-day build-up to the start from Plymouth, The Golden Globe Race will be holding a series of lectures presented by famous sailors, and host an Ocean Adventure Film Festival (Now open for international entries) which will include little seen historic footage, recording the pioneering days of sail together with a short film competition shot on Kodak Super8 film – the same stock that the Golden Globe Race fleet will be shooting on.
In addition, Plymouth City Council will be holding its famous Plymouth Jazz and Blues festival in the Race Village, playing the best music from the Swinging Sixties.
Start day – Saturday June 30, 2018 coincides with Plymouth Armed Forces Day so there will be plenty to keep visitors occupied once the race has started. Plymouth Armed Forces Day has a spectacular and exciting programme of entertainment, with air displays, parades, demonstrations, competitions and activities for the whole family.
Don McIntyre, the Golden Globe Race Chairman says: “Plymouth’s enthusiasm for the 2018 Golden Globe Race is fantastic. We are all excited to be partnering with this vibrant Ocean City and with so many new and exciting elements coming together for the Race Village and start day, we are looking forward to attracting spectators from across the UK, Europe and the world. June 30t will see 30 Hero’s embark on a voyage the likes of which the world has never seen.”
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ENTRY LIST – 5 PLACES UP FOR GRABS
This past winter has seen some entrants inevitably drop out but their places were eagerly filled by those on the Wait List. One of the fallers is Australian Shane Freeman who was forced to abandon his Tradewind 35 yacht Muska after being capsized and dismasted in fearsome seas some 600 miles west of Cape Horn. Mercifully, Freeman was rescued by a passing ship, and though no longer a competitor, he hopes to have a role to play supporting other competitors and the Race.
This has left a very strong list of 25 entrants including new names Izabel Pimentel from Brazil, Mark Slats from the Netherlands and Mike Smith from Australia. It also gives the opportunity for five more to fulfil lifelong dreams of sailing around the world. “The Race is limited to 30 entrants, and since we have received more than 150 tentative enquires, I don’t think it will be long before our list is full again.” Says Don McIntyre, the GGR Chairman. “I know a few sailors around the world who are losing sleep this week deciding whether to join the GGR Family and change their lives for ever. It is a case of first-come, first served.”
For further details, go to www.goldengloberace.com/the-rules/
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SKIPPER PROFILES AND LATEST UPDATES
New entrant confirmations:
With 14 months to go before the start of the 2018 Golden Globe Race from Plymouth UK on 30th June 2018, three new entrants have signed up to compete in the 2018 Golden Globe Race
Izabel Pimentel – BRAZIL
Izabel Pimentel is a 51-year old Brazilian who has done this all before. In 2014 she became the first South American woman to complete a solo circumnavigation via the three great Capes – Good Hope, Leeuwin and Cape Horn. She has also made eight Atlantic crossings alone and written five books in a sailing career that span 11 years.
The daughter of a soldier, she spent her formative years following her parents from one posting to another. Her first career was as a systems analyst working in Brazil and Portugal until 2006 when, at the age of 40, she chose to follow her passion for sailing, starting with a solo transatlantic crossing in a 21ft boat from Brazil to Europe. In the 11 years since, she has covered more than 70,000 miles alone, including competing in the 2009 Mini Transat 6.5 race.
Izabel says of the GGR. “This is such a poetic event, reviving the spirit of those great navigators from the past – Men like Slocum, Moitessier, Tabarly and Knox-Johnston. They are my heroes. It is they who have made us the navigators we are today.”
Her preference is to campaign a Rustler 36, or similar 36ft yacht.
Visit: www.facebook.com/Izabelpimetelnavegadora/
Mark Slats – NETHERLANDS
Mark Slats (40) is another to have completed a solo circumnavigation before, sailing the 46ft Alan Buchanan designed yacht Cornelia in 2004/5. The Dutch sailor who was born in Darwin, Australia and moved to the Netherlands at the age of 8, has bought a Rustler 36 – the first one to be built – and plans to take delivery of her in Scotland in May and sail her back across the North Sea to his home port of Wassenaar near the fishing port of Scheveningen.
Mark has his own business renovating old houses, but is finding preparing for the GGR and the next Talisker Transatlantic Rowing Challenge in December, is taking up a great deal of his time. “I’m out training 4 hours each day and spending the rest planning for these two events. It is very time consuming!”
He is being helped by Dutch naval architect Dick Kopmans who will oversee the fit-out of his Rustler 36 which will be slipped just 100metres from Mark’s home.
Visit: www.markslats.nl/
Mike Smith – AUSTRALIA/SOUTH AFRICA
Mike Smith (58) is a boat builder and former project coordinator for Boatspeed, builders of Dame Ellen Macarthur’s record-breaking trimaran B&Q/Castorama, and the Volvo Ocean Race yacht Movistar. Very experienced in hi-tech composite construction, this South African born sailor is using his expertise to create a modern replica of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s 1968/9 race winner Suhaili. He has utilised the latest CAD design system to first fair the lines of this ERIC design, then laser cut the frames. Construction is taking place in a barn outside his home near Newcastle, NSW and she is now ready to be strip-planked and sheathed in epoxy.
Mike’s plan is to compete the hull later this year and have it shipped to Cape Town for fitting out before sailing her to Plymouth for the start.
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Latest news from skippers:
AMERICA:
Istvan Kopar (64) is a Hungarian-born offshore sailing instructor from Florida who has already completed one solo nonstop circumnavigation without the aid of GPS back in 1991/2. He has purchased the John Rock-designed Tradewind 35 Puffin, which he has spent the past 2 years refitting. She is now painted International Orange and her deck and interior carpentry are almost complete.
Visit: www.koparsailing.com
Carl Huber (56) This Austrian born American sailor bought the Ta Shing built Bob Perry designed Baba 35 Jamma Jeanne and sailed her from the US Virgin Islands, across to the Chesapeake where he has spent the winter preparing her for the GGR. Work has been delayed by the arrival of a mother duck in mid-April, which has made a nest and laid 10 eggs on deck! Carl has to work around them until the family eventually swim away. He was planning to remove the teak decks anyway, but the amount of duck poo now makes that imperative.
Roy Hubbard (27) Inspired by Robin Lee Graham’s solo circumnavigation in his yacht Dove, Hubbard has owned boats since the age of 13, cruising the New England coast each summer where he has accumulated all his knowledge and experience so far. Roy has purchased the cutter rigged Baba 35, Duke which he has had partially refitted and now intends to sail 1,100mile north to New England where the work will be completed to meet race requirements. Roy plans to head south to the West Indies this autumn, and then head for Plymouth via the Azores for the start of the GGR in June 2018.
Nabil W Amra: – American based Palestinian – see entry under PALASTINE
AUSTRALIA
Kevin Farebrother, a 48-year-old fireman from Perth, West Australia is an adventurer at heart, having completed his 3rd assent of Mount Everest last year. He is currently in Nepal guiding a group up Island Peak Mountain. The former SAS Soldier has bought Don McIntyre’s Tradewind 35 Silver Heels to do the GGR and plans to sail her around the top of Australia from Sydney to Perth – a distance of about 6000 miles – to refit her before ship the boat to the UK in January 2018 ready for the start. In between, he has one more Everest climb planned early in 2018. “I’ll be going up 29,000ft to the highest point on the globe, then sailing 29,000 miles around it.” He says. Quite a challenge!
Mark Sinclair (58) was 10 years old when Sir Robin Knox-Johnston became the first to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation and has been passionate about sailing ever since. In 1984, he completed a double solo crossing of the Tasman When he found out about the 2018 GGR, Mark applied immediately, purchased the Lello 34 class yacht Coconut and deferred plans to compete in the 2018 single-handed Trans Tasman race.
Mark’s professional background includes the hydrographic surveying of remote areas in ships, small boats and aircraft. He served in the Royal Australian Navy, commanding three ships and navigating four. He retired as a Commander in 1996. Mark is currently Managing Director of the Fugro LADS Corporation, which conducts hydrographic surveys worldwide.
Mike Smith (58) is a boat builder and former project coordinator for Boatspeed, builders of Dame Ellen Macarthur’s record-breaking trimaran B&Q/Castorama, and the Volvo Ocean Race yacht Movistar. Very experienced in hi-tech composite construction, this South African born sailor is using his expertise to create a modern replica of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s 1968/9 race winner Suhaili. He has utilised the latest CAD design system to first fair the lines of this ERIC design, then laser cut the frames. Construction is taking place in a barn outside his home near Newcastle, NSW and she is now ready to be strip-planked and sheathed in epoxy.
Mike’s plan is to compete the hull later this year and have it shipped to Cape Town for fitting out before sailing her to Plymouth for the start.
Visit: https://thepingoproject.wordpress.com/blog/
BRAZIL:
Gustavo ‘Rato’ Pacheco (58) has cancelled plans to build an ERIC design Suhaili replica, and bought the Lello 34 Double Helix in South Africa. Work starts in May to her refit the yacht in Cape Town. This will be his second solo sailing campaign. The first was the 2003 Mini Transat Race when he finished 27th out of 39 entries, sailing in the oldest boat within the fleet.
Visit: www.voltaomundo.com
Izabel Pimentel (51) has done this all before. In 2014 she became the first South American woman to complete a solo circumnavigation via the three great Capes – Good Hope, Leeuwin and Cape Horn. She has also made eight Atlantic crossings alone and written five books in a sailing career that span 11 years.
The daughter of a soldier, she spent her formative years following her parents from one posting to another. Her first career was as a systems analyst working in Brazil and Portugal until 2006 when, at the age of 40, she chose to follow her passion for sailing, starting with a solo transatlantic crossing in a 21ft boat from Brazil to Europe. In the 11 years since, she has covered more than 70,000 miles alone, including competing in the 2009 Mini Transat 6.5 race.
Izabel says of the GGR. “This is such a poetic event, reviving the spirit of those great navigators from the past – Men like Slocum, Moitessier, Tabarly and Knox-Johnston. They are my heroes. It is they who have made us the navigators we are today.”
Her preference is to campaign a Rustler 36, or similar 36ft yacht.
Visit: www.facebook.com/Izabelpimetelnavegadora/
BRITAIN:
Susie Goodall (27) is an offshore and ocean sailing instructor who has been sailing since the age of three. She has bought the Rustler 36 Ariadne, in which she has just completed a double Atlantic crossing, solo. The yacht is now being returned to Rustler Yachts in Falmouth for a complete refit in preparation for the GGR.
Visit: http://susiegoodall.co.uk
Ian Reid (61) A farmer from Somerset, he has bought the 1979 ketch-rigged Belliure Endurance 35 Maja. She is currently one of three GGR yachts being refitted at the Boat Co and is expected to be relaunched in June. Ian than plans to make a 3,200 mile round trip to the Azores in August, to get to know to her and see what other improvements can be made next winter. “We expect Maja’s strength will be reaching, and I must work out how to optimise this.” He says.
Visit: www.reidosea.co.uk
Robin Davie (66) has the sea in his blood. After competing in the 1988 OSTAR, he raced against Don McIntyre in Class II of the 1990 BOC Challenge Around Alone Race and then completed two further solo circumnavigation in the 1994 and 1998 BOC Challenges. On one occasion he was dismasted thousands of miles from Cape horn but managed to complete the leg jury rig. His first circumnavigation was in a yacht named Spirit of Cornwall and he hopes to represent this County again during this Race. Since his last circumnavigation, Robin has remained in the USA driving taxis for a living, but on retirement has just return to Britain to buy a yacht and start his preparations in earnest. Robin remains passionate about the Golden Glob Race. The first event back in 1968/9 inspired him to take up solo sailing, and to compete in the 50th Anniversary edition seems, he says to be a fitting retirement plan.
ESTONIA
Uku Randmaa (53). A lifelong sailor, Randmaa has the Rustler 36, Maibi, which he is sailing to Falmouth for Rustler Yachts to refit ready for the GGR. Uku began sailing at the age of 3 aboard his father’s yacht, then graduated through the junior ranks sailing Optimist, Cadet, OK, Laser and 420 dinghy classes. After leaving Tallinn Marine University with a Master’s ticket in 1984, he got back to competing in regattas at a serious level, then graduated to offshore sailing with his Hanse 430 yacht Temptation, completing a solo voyage to Iceland and back prior to sailing solo around the world with stops between 2011 and 2012.
. “This is dream event – a round the world race for real gladiators. For me, the best is to take part; the worst – not to finish. If I’m not going to win, then simply finishing will fulfill my dreams.”
FRANCE
Jean-Luc van den Heede (71) This 5-time circumnavigator already holds the record for the fastest solo west-about non-stop circumnavigation against the prevailing winds and currents, and has been a podium finisher in four previous solo round the world races. He finished 2nd in the 1986 BOC Challenge Around Alone Race, 3rd in the 1990 Vendee Globe Race, 2nd in the 1993 Vendee Globe Race and 3rd in the 1995 BOC Challenge Around Alone Race. Van den Heede bought a Rustler 36 yacht last year, which he refitted and spent the winter months test sailing out in the Atlantic. He has won sponsorship from the French insurance group MATMUT.
Visit: www.vdh.fr
Lionel Regnier (58) – *Second GGR Special Invitational entrant has made 23 transatlantic crossings during the past in 30 years. The former maths teacher became a professional skipper in 1985, and has since complete three Mini 6.50 races before graduating to Class 40 race boats and competing in the Quebec-Saint-Malo, Solidaire du Chocolat, Les Sables-Horta, Transat Jacques Vabre and Route du Rhum races. Lionel has also chosen a Rustler 36 yacht – One and All – the same type selected by fellow Frenchmen Philippe Péché and Jean-Luc van den Heede. One and All was refitted over the winter and launched in April. Lionel has already completed his jury rig trials and plans to compete in the Original Singlehanded Transatlantic Race (OSTAR) from Plymouth UK to Newport Rhode Island starting on May 29.
Visit: www.lionelregnier.com
Antoine Cousot (45) is a French professional sailor from Noirmoutier, France, married with three children who has sailed the equivalent of 3 circumnavigations delivering sailing boats and skippering large luxury yachts to all corners of the Globe.
He has purchased the first Alan Hill designed Biscay 36, built at The Falmouth Boat Co in 1975 where is returned last winter for a 9-month refit. This ketch rigged yacht will be renamed Goldstar at a ceremony at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth on May 4, when, with the support of local partners Natwest and Coodes. Antoine will launch his scholarship funds campaign with the Open University. Their goal is to inspire people and change 50 lives through education to mark the 50th anniversary of the University and the GGR.
Cousot will then sail the yacht to her new home, the Port de l’Herbaudiere, France and hold a second press conference there on June 15th. He will then compete his 2,000-mile solo qualification cruise from the Vendée to the Azores and back, returning to Falmouth.
Visit: www.antoinecousot.com
Philippe Péché (54) One of France’s leading sailors, Péché has covered more than 300,000 miles racing everything from monohulls to giant multihulls. . He has competed in three round the world races and is a two-time holder of the Jules Verne trophy completing the circumnavigation within 50 days. Based in La Trinité-sur-Mer, he has bought the Rustler 36 Golly Wobbler, which he has renamed Gragal, the name shared on all his Father’s yachts.
She has since undergone a complete refit and relaunched in time to compete in the Spi Ouest-France Easter regatta in La Trinité before heading across the Channel to Plymouth to sail in the 2-Man Transatlantic Race (2-STAR) to Newport Rhode Island.
Visit: www.sailforce.com.au
Arsène Ledertheil (59) Sailing became a passion at an early stage. “I was 11 when Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Bernard Moitessier and Eric Tabarly were making names for themselves and they became my sailing heroes.” He says. He lived 1000km from the sea, but travelled to Brittany as often as possible to get sailing lessons and devote all his spare time to the sport. In 1984, he gave up his career as an engineer to take up sailing professionally and “enjoy another life.” He started by delivering boats, then campaigned a Mini Transat race yacht with a friend. He went on to compete in three La Figaro singlehanded races before graduating to transatlantic races including the Transat Lorient-St Barth and the Transat 650 events. He now has 30 000 miles under his belt,10,000 of them singlehanded and has selected a Biscay 36 to do the Race. He says of the GGR. “I love the character of the GGR overall! It sends a philosophical message to a world that is becoming more and more crazy and losing sight of fundamental values.”
Visit: http://www.alecompeting.eu/
Loïc Lepage (59) has bought the Nicholson 32 Mk XI yacht Laaland which is currently being refitted prior to making a solo voyage to the Azores and back later this year. Loïc has more than 20,000 miles of solo sailing under his belt including three trans-Biscay and four transatlantic crossings. “I’m very happy to be part of this legendary race. It’s very stimulating to compete against other entrants in similar boats.”
Patrick Phelipon (63) is one of Eric Tabarly’s disciples, having raced with the doyen of French sailing on Pen Duick VI during the 1977/8 Whitbread Round the World Race. Since then he has been racing Mini, Quarter and Half tonners, together with ultra-light 60 footers. His chosen yacht for the GGR is the Endurance 35 ketch Floreana , which has just completed a refit in Pisa, Italy. Phelipon says of the GGR “I have wanted to sail round the world alone for some time, but not felt ready to do it until now. I like the traditional type of yachts chosen for this race and the rules that surround the event. It is great to be involved from the beginning. The hardest part will be in the Southern Ocean – I’ve been there before and it is a tough place to sail.”
Visit: http://patrickphelipon.com/
IRELAND
Gregor McGuckin (31) Another adventurer, McGuckin swapped his hiking and climbing boots for sailing gear at the age of 18 and never looked back. For many years he combined both skills teaching at outdoor adventure centres at home and abroad before gaining his Ocean Yachtmaster ticket. Since then he has made several Atlantic and Indian Ocean crossings and now with more than 35,000 sea miles under his belt. Gregor has selected a Biscay 36 ketch to compete in the GGR and has partnered with a publisher who is putting together a primary schools education programme based around his voyage designed to engage children in adventure and the marine environment.
McGuckin plans to exhibit his yacht and promote the education programme at Dublin’s Riverfest in June.
Visit: www.gregormcguckin.com
ITALY / SWITZERLAND
Neree Cornuz (27) Born and raised on his parent’s ketch, Cornuz completed his first Atlantic ocean crossing at the age of 2. He has been sailing and racing all kind of boats ever since. For the past 6 years he has been an officer in the Merchant Navy, but has now set up base as a sailing instructor in Geneva, Switzerland and purchased a Lello 34 which he is currently sailing singlehanded 8,000 miles from Cape Town to Tangier.
Visit: www.nereecornuz.com/
NETHERLANDS
Mark Slats (40) is another to have completed a solo circumnavigation before, sailing the 46ft Alan Buchanan designed yacht Cornelia in 2004/5. The Dutch sailor who was born in Darwin, Australia and moved to the Netherlands at the age of 8, has bought a Rustler 36 – the first one to be built – and plans to take delivery of her in Scotland in May and sail her back across the North Sea to his home port of Wassenaar near the fishing port of Scheveningen.
Mark has his own business renovating old houses, but is finding preparing for the GGR and the next Talisker Transatlantic Rowing Challenge in December, is taking up a great deal of his time. “I’m out training 4 hours each day and spending the rest planning for these two events. It is very time consuming!”
He is being helped by Dutch naval architect Dick Kopmans who will oversee the fit-out of his Rustler 36 which will be slipped just 100metres from Mark’s home.
Visit: www.markslats.nl/golden-globe/
NORWAY
Are Wiig (58) A sailor for more than 40 years, Wiig has chosen an Olle Enderlin designed OE32 double-ender named Olleanna to compete in the GGR, which is now undergoing a complete refit. Are finished 2nd in class with his 30ft yacht Granada in the 1988 OSTAR. He later covered more than 30,000 miles in that boat before buying a sistership to the 56ft multihull Umupro Jardin, winner of the 1984 OSTAR. He has used her to win several shorthanded and fully crewed races in his native Norway. A professional seaman, engineer and yacht surveyor, he says: “The Golden Globe is a dream come true.”
Visit: http://batogtakst.no
PALESTINE
Nabil Amra (42) This American based Palestinian works as a foreign exchange trader in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has just purchased a ketch rigged version of the Biscay 36 built by the Falmouth Boat Company named Ele May and has returned her to the builder to have her prepared her for the GGR. Last year, he sailed a catamaran with a friend across the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal. “The effect on me was so profound that I began to look for a blue-water boat of my own and bought a Contessa 32 based in St. Maarten. My salt-water journey is just beginning! Now I’m preparing to start a new chapter in my life that has more to do with adventure. The Golden Globe Race came along at just the right time to turn an incessant daydream into reality. My eagerness to sail under the Palestinian flag and to represent these forlorn people who had little to be cheery about for a long time.”
Visit: www.sailingwithnabil.com
RUSSIA
Igor Zaretskiy (65) is one of Russia’s most experienced international sailors. He has twice won the Russian ¼ Ton championship, competed in multiple RORC Caribbean races, together with such classics as the Fastnet, Newport-Bermuda and Middle Sea races. In 2010 he won the Jester Challenge singlehanded transatlantic race, a feat crowned with Russia’s Yachtsman of the Year title. His preference is for Belliure Endurance 35 yacht, which he must purchase before the end of July.
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The Race in numbers
- The course: 30,000 miles with 4 rendezvous gates
- 24 entrants (Max entry list is 30)
- Competitors represent 11 countries
- America (3) Australia (3) Brazil (2) Britain (3) Estonia (1) France (7) Ireland (1) Italy (1) Netherlands (1) Norway (1) Palestine (1) Russia (1)
- Oldest competitor: Jean-Luc van den Heede (FRA) 72.
- Youngest competitors: aged 27: Roy Hubbard (USA) Susie Goodall (GBR) and Neree Cornuz (Italy/Switzerland)
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Selection of yachts to date:
- Rustler 36 (6)
- Belliure Endurance 35 (3)
- Ta Shing Baba 35 (2)
- Tradewind 35 (2)
- Suhaili ERIC design replica (1)
- Nicholson 32 Mk 10 (1)
- Biscay 36 (3)
- OE 32 (1)
- Lello 34 (3)
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Background to the Golden Globe Race – Stepping back to the golden age of solo sailing
Like the original Sunday Times event back in 1968/9, the 2018 Golden Globe Race is very simple. Depart Plymouth, England on June 30 2018 and sail solo, non-stop around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Plymouth. Entrants are limited to use the same type of yachts and equipment that were available to Robin Knox-Johnston in that first race. That means sailing without modern technology or benefit of satellite based navigation aids. Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 – 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 and having a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge. These yachts will be heavily built, strong and steady, similar in concept to Robin’s 32ft vessel Suhaili.
In contrast to the current professional world of elite ocean racing, this edition travels back to a time known as the ‘Golden Age’ of solo sailing. Suhaili was a slow and steady 32ft double-ended ketch based on a William Atkins ERIC design. She is heavily built of teak and carried no computers, GPS, satellite phone nor water-maker, and Robin completed the challenge without the aid of modern day shore-based weather routing advice. He had only a wind-up chronometer and a barograph to face the world alone, and caught rainwater to survive, but was at one with the ocean, able to contemplate and absorb all that this epic voyage had to offer.
This anniversary edition of the Golden Globe Race is a celebration of the original event, the winner, his boat and that significant world-first achievement. Competitors in this race will be sailing simple boats using basic equipment to guarantee a satisfying and personal experience. The challenge is pure and very raw, placing the adventure ahead of winning at all costs. It is for ‘those who dare’, just as it was for Knox-Johnston. They will be navigating with sextant on paper charts, without electronic instruments or autopilots. They will hand–write their logs and determine the weather for themselves. Only occasionally will they talk to loved ones and the outside world when long-range high frequency and ham radios allow.
It is now possible to race a monohull solo around the world in under 80 days, but sailors entered in this race will spend around 300 days at sea, challenging themselves and each other. The 2018 Golden Globe Race will be a fitting tribute to the first edition and it’s winner, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
The GGR will be run under the auspices of the Royal Nomuka Yacht Club based in Tonga, with the Royal Western Yacht Cub officiating at the start and finish in Plymouth.
His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Tupouto’a Ulukalala of Tonga is Patron of the Race.
Safety
The yachts will be tracked 24/7 by satellite, but competitors will not be able to interrogate this information unless an emergency arises and they break open containing a GPS and satellite phone. Doing this however, has consequences. By breaking the seal, competitors will be deemed to have retired from the Golden Globe Race, and instead will be relegated to the Gipsy Moth Class as if they had made a stop.
Provisional entry.
For these sailors, this marks the initial stage towards completing all the entry requirements, which include gaining further sailing experience and preparing their boat to meet all the qualifications. Only when these hoops have been jumped will the provisional entrant become an official entry in the Race. Only just prior to the start when final scrutineering and certification has been completed, will the sailor and boat together become an official competitor. Then and only then are they absolutely assured of starting in the Golden Globe Race.
Should any sailor miss a deadline prior to this, they may be relegated to the Golden Globe Race Wait list and the first Qualified Wait listed sailor will move into that vacated entry position.
Wait list
Coverage for the Golden Globe Race has been massive, yet each day more sailors are finding out about this ‘Real Solo Race’ around the world. Some cannot sleep! The pull is irresistible. What can they do? A dream is born and now the entry list is nearly full. For those with passion and commitment to compete, the path is clear. They must join the WAIT LIST. There will only be a maximum of 15 on this list. It is the last chance. The organisers expect some of the current entries will not make it to the start line. That is the way with history for any great endeavour, but when one drops out, this gives a chance for another to join.
In addition, three of the five Special Invitations have yet to be offered. These go to deserving sailors, and those still hanging in on the wait list will be remembered. We expect to see a fleet of 30 yachts set out from Plymouth on June 30 2018.
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Background on Don McIntyre (61) Race Founder
Don is an inveterate sailor and recognised as one of Australia’s greatest explorers. Passionate about all forms of adventure and inspiring others, his desire is to recreate the Golden Age of solo sailing. Don finished 2nd in class in the 1990-91 BOC Challenge solo around the world yacht race. In 2010, he led the 4-man Talisker Bounty Boat challenge to re-enact the Mutiny on the Bounty voyage from Tonga to West Timor, in a similar boat and with same limited supplies available to Captain Bligh 221 years before.
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“They will be navigating with sextant on paper charts, without electronic instruments or autopilots. They will hand–write their logs, cook with kerosene and determine the weather for themselves. Only occasionally will they talk to loved ones and the outside world when long-range high frequency and ham radios allow”.
Don McIntyre, Golden Globe Race Founder
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For further information about the 2018 Golden Globe Race: contact: Barry Pickthall – GGR Media Coordinator:
Tel: +44 (0)7768 395719
Please note: The above is an official press release from the GGR race management staff. All words are their own, with the exception of some factual edits we made in Istvan Kopar’s section. Kopar Sailing team management reserves the right to correct factual errors in press releases regarding Istvan Kopar and his race preparation.
