The 2018 Golden Globe Race was an around-the-world

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

race which started on 1 July 2018 from

Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the administ ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The 2018 competition was the second edition and celebrated the 50th anniversary of the original ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race. It featured yachts similar to those used at that time. Except for safety equipment, no modern technology was allowed.

Retro sailing

Entrants are limited to sailing similar yachts and equipment to what was available to

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston (born 17 March 1939) is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won the second Jules Vern ...

, the winner of the original race in 1968–69. That means sailing without the use of modern technology such as satellite based navigation aids. Safety equipment such as

EPIRB An Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon for commercial and recreational boats, a portable, battery-powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate boaters in distress and in need of i ...

s and

AIS AIS may refer to: Medicine * Abbreviated Injury Scale, an anatomical-based coding system to classify and describe the severity of injuries * Acute ischemic stroke, the thromboembolic type of stroke * Androgen insensitivity syndrome, an intersex ...

are carried, however the competitors are only allowed to use the technology in an emergency. Competitors could apply to have their class of boat approved, providing it was in accordance with the following rules: * Of fibre reinforced plastic construction. * Designed prior to 1988 and have a minimum series of 20 yachts built from one mould. * Have a hull length of between . Bowsprits, wind vanes and outboard rudders, boomkins, pushpits and pulpits are not measured. * Have full-length keels with rudders attached to the trailing edge. * A minimum design displacement of Twenty-two classes were approved, with one exception to the rules made for a wood-epoxy ''Suhaili'' replica (the ''Suhaili'' being the yacht that Knox-Johnston sailed in 1968).

Route

The race started on 1 July 2018 in

and will lead around the world eastward, leaving

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders Ba ...

and

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. There will be several "film gates" along the route, where the skippers can be interviewed as they sail past without stopping and where they can pass over films and letters.

Entrants

18 entrants from 13 different countries who entered the race. Of those, six chose the class-compliant but relatively modern Rustler 36. A further 17 had expressed interest but never started. ''* Adjusted for displacement per Dave Gerr's formula''

The race

The race started at 10:00 GMT on 1 July 2018, with the competitors passing a rolling gate between the ''Suhaili'' and the ''Joshua'', two yachts that competed in the 1968 race. Sir

Robin Knox-Johnston Sir William Robert Patrick Knox-Johnston (born 17 March 1939) is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won the second Jules Vern ...

, who sailed on the ''Suhaili'' and won that race, fired the starting cannon. Of the 18 entrants, Francesco Cappelletti did not start the race and officially withdrew on 5 July. He plans to sail around the world independently and the race organisers are tracking his progress. Ertan Beskardes retired on 5 July, after deciding that being unable to communicate with his family removed the enjoyment from the race. Kevin Farebrother retired on 15 July at the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

mark, after becoming disillusioned by solo sailing and lack of sleep. Two days later, Nabil Amra retired at the same area on 17 July due to broken windvane gear. Antoine Cousot stopped at the Canary islands to repair his windvane gear, demoting him to the 'Chichester' class (one stop). Istvan Kopar put in to the Cape Verde islands on 23 July, planning to replace his windvane, but in the event proceeded without assistance. Antoine Cousot retired at the end of August due to a broken windvane and injuries. Philippe Péché made one stop ('Chichester' class) on 11 August following the failure of his tiller, but retired from the race two weeks later on 25 August. Are Wiig was dismasted on 17 August 400 nautical miles off Cape Town. Abhilash Tomy was dismasted and injured on 22 September. Gregor McGuckin elected to abandon his boat after being dismasted and was rescued with Abhilash. On 5 December 2018, Susie Goodall's boat was pitch-poled (flipped end-over-end), dismasted, and swamped during a storm while in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

around west of

. She was rescued by the

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

''Tian Fu'' on 7 December.

Golden Globe Race 2022

The 2022 edition of the Golden Globe Race will have 20 entrants in the Suhaili class and 10 entries in the Joshua Class. The events start in a UK port on 26 July 2022 when GGR entrants assemble ahead of a SITraN Challenge Race bound for

in France, starting on Sunday 31 July 2022. The GGR Race Village will open in France on 6 August 2022. The Golden Globe Race will start from Les Sables-d'Olonne on 4 September 2022.

External links

Official website

References

{{Reflist Round-the-world sailing competitions Single-handed sailing competitions Yachting races