GOLDEN GLOBE 2018

Golden Globe 2018 

18 solitaires autour du monde pour une course à l’ancienne, sans GPS, ni traceur météo, sur des voiliers de 36 pieds (11m) maximum à quille longue, sans assistance ni pilote électrique partent dimanche 1er juillet des Sables d’Olonne. 

Le parcourt contourne les Canaries, laisse les iles de l’indien à tribord, rentre dans la Storm Bay à Hobart, laisse un point au 50° S 100 W à tribord avant de franchir le Cap Horn et remonte l’Atlantique vers Les Sables.

© François Chevalier 2018

Les types de voiliers :

Difficile pour les concurrents de trouver le meilleur voilier de moins de 36 pieds répondant aux critères de la course, avec une flottaison entre 7,77 et 8,69 mètres, ils ne vont pas effectuer des moyennes fantastiques, surtout que le gréement doit rester celui de la série d’époque, qui se situe dans les années 1970-80, et même 1965 pour le Gaia 36 de Sparkman & Stephens.

Pas facile de s’y reconnaître avec tous ces aventuriers peu connu du public, à part Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, habitué des Vendée Globe et détenteur du record du tour du monde par l’Ouest.

Concurrents :

- Abhilash Tomy (IND) Thuriya (Suhaili replica) 

Thuriya ©François Chevalier 2018

Designer : William Atkin

Name Abhilash Tomy

Born   February 5th 1979 – Changanacherry, Kerala, India
Domicile       Kerala, India
Country of entry    India

Commander Abhilash Tomy, KC from India, is one of India’s most prominent sailors. A pilot in the Indian Navy, he has had the advantage, just as French sailing legend Eric Tabarly did, of spending much of his career sailing for his country.
Abhilash has covered 52,000 miles under sail while in the Navy including a solo non-stop circumnavigation from Mumbai and back in 2012/13. He has also represented India in the 2011 Cape Town to Rio Race, the Spanish Copa del Rey Race in 2014 and the Korea Cup for two years in succession. He has been awarded the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, the Kirti Chakra for valor and courageous action and Mac Gregor medal.
He says of the challenge ahead: “This event recreates in the closest way possible way, the magic of the original race. The emphasis is not on technology and its management, but on seamanship and a direct experience of sea. This spartan philosophy is in keeping with my own view that a lot can be achieved with very little.”
 

To celebrate India’s heritage in building famous single-handed yachts in the past (Suhaili and Lively Lady spring to mind) Abhilash will be racing a replica of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s original winner. Work began at the Aquarius shipyard on Goa in 2016, not with the rudimentary adz, bow drill and hand saw that shaped Suhaili in a Bombay shipyard five decades ago, but with the latest CAD design and CNC cutting machinery to produce a much lighter wood epoxy composite replica. Thuriya was launched in August 2017 and Cdr.Tomy has been conducting sea trials in the Indian Ocean prior to shipping the yacht to Europe in March 2018.
 

- Antoine Cousot (FRA) Biscay 36 Métier Intérim

 

Biscay 36 Metier Anterim©F Chevalier

Designer :Alan Hill

Name        Antoine Cousot
Born        May 9th, 1971 – St Lô, Normandy, France
Domicile    Noirmoutier, France
Country of entry    France

Antoine Cousot is a professional sailor based in Noirmoutier, France, with his wife and three children. He has sailed the equivalent of three times around the world, delivering boats and skippering large luxury yachts. With over 15 oceans crossing under his belt, Antoine has extensive passage making experience.

Antoine is working with Oceano Vox Vendée, a local non-profit organization to raise awareness of environmental issues and conduct researches on psychology during the Race.
Why enter the GGR? Antoine says: “It is a unique opportunity to take this relationship with the sea even further. It is a challenge to accomplish what few sailors have done before; it is a quest with cosmic dimensions.
I have had to give up an international career, a comfortable living and sell my house and boat. I have returned to France with my family and created a company to manage this project. This entrepreneurship has its ups and downs and is very demanding but all in all, a rich experience of personal teaching and discipline that will help me in whatever I decide to do after.
As for others, just getting to the start is a victory but more, I want to realize a dream to sail in the wake of Bernard Moitessier and say, I did it!"

Antoine is also using the campaign to raise £1m for The Antoine Cousot Scholarship Fund to give 50 students the opportunity to transform their futures, through flexible, practical education in Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences run by the Open University, which, like the GGR is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Antoine, an Open University graduate says, “The OU changed my openness to the world we’re living in. They came to me with the right tools at the right time, helping me pursue my dreams. Now, I want to share my experience with others - learning is intimately part of our life.”

Antoine Cousot's Biscay 36 was the first of these classic ketch designs, built by Robert Ives/Falmouth Boat Construction in 1975. She returned there during the 2016/7 winter for a full refit. Relaunched in May 2017, Antoine then sailed her during the summer in the gulf of Biscay. The yacht was then exhibited at the 2017 Paris Nautic Boat Show.   Cousot has won sponsorship from the Vendée based employment agency Métier Intérim and has devoted the early Spring months to getting as much experience as possible in the winter storms of the Atlantic to readiness himself for the Southern Ocean.
 

- Are Wiig (DEN)  OE 32  Olleanna

OE 32 Olleanna ©ƒ©chevalier 2018

Designer :Olle Enderlein

Name    Are Wiig
Born    October 2nd 1959 – Baerum, Norway
Domicile    Svelvik, Norway
Country of entry    Norway

Are Wiig is a professional seaman, engineer and yacht surveyor from Svelvik  near Oslo.  He has chosen an Olle Enderlin designed OE32 class double-ender named Olleanna to compete in the Race. Wiig, who has more than five decades of sailing experience, finished 2nd in class in the 1988 OSTAR with his 30ft yacht Granada. He later covered more than 30,000 miles in that boat before building and sailing a 33ft catamaran. In 2000 he bought a sistership to the 56ft multihull Umupro Jardin, winner of the 1984 OSTAR, and won several shorthanded and fully crewed races in his native Norway.
He says of the Race: “The Golden Globe is a dream come true.”

Are Wiig bought his OE 32 class yacht Olleanna in 2015 and the job of making her compliant with the GGR rules began. This Olle Enderlein designed yacht is modeled on the classic Scandinavian double-ender and was designed in 1971. Olleanna was built in 1973, is fitted with a masthead rig and makes surprisingly good speed, even in light winds.
In October 2017, Wiig completed a 2,600-mile solo voyage from Oslo up into the Arctic Circle to North Cape (71° N) and back. “I experienced steady winds between 10 and 40knots with gusts of 70knots off South Utsire.  The boat performed very well, averaging 6knots throughout the voyage.” He says. The voyage also uncovered several leaks around deck fittings and windows, which he fixed during a final refit during the 2017/18 winter ready to be relaunched once the ice melted in the Spring.

 

- Ertan Beskardes (GBR) Rustler 36 Lazy Otter

 

Rustler 36 Lazy Otter ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :Holman & Pye

Name    Ertan Beskardes
Born    June 11th 1961 – Istanbul, Turkey
Domicile    Bournemouth, UK
Country of entry    United Kingdom

Ertan Beskardes is a Turkish born British national who began sailing on the Bosphorus at the age of 12. He came to the UK in 1979 and made a career in military tailoring and regalia, before setting up his own company with his wife in Bournemouth in 1994. There, they built a boat in the back garden and have been sailing regularly in nearby Christchurch harbour since 1998.   As their children grew up he graduated first to a Drascombe Cruiser Longboat, then a Parker 235 cruising yacht before buying a Jeanneau Odyssey 33 in 2012, sailing each year-round. Ertan had planned to sail singlehanded to the Azores, taking part in the Jester Challenge race once, and twice on his own accord only to be thwarted each time either by limited time or bad weather. 
He says:  “I have always been self-employed and always wanted to do something special like sail around the world. I first learned about the Golden Globe Race on Facebook in 2017 and thought to enter the second race in 2022, but then learned that there were places available for the 2018 event.  I quickly found a Rustler 36 in Sardinia and have been preparing her for the race ever since.” 

Ertan Beskardes purchased the Rustler 36 Lazy Otter built by Cygnus Marine in 1993, late in 2017 and spent the early winter months refitting her in Fertilia Marina in Sardinia.  He has since completed more than 2,500 solo sea mile on the voyage from Sardina to Falmouth, stopping at Alicante. 


 - Gregor McGuckin (IRE) Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance

 

Biscay 36 Handley E E ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :Alan Hill

Name    Gregor McGuckin
Born    August 15th 1986 – Dublin, Ireland
Domicile    Dublin, Ireland
Country of entry    Ireland

Ever thirsty for adventure, Gregor McGuckin has been involved in the outdoors from an early age. Starting out climbing the hills and mountains around Ireland, he soon discovered the sea and windsurfing and surfing became a daily part of life. He chose sailing as his profession, starting as a dinghy coach, delivery skipper and in recent times, skippered of a 62ft yacht based in the Caribbean. He has logged over 45,000 miles crossing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and many other passages around the world. Always looking for the next challenge, Gregor was excited by the opportunity to compete in the 2018 GGR and hopes to become the first Irishman to complete a  non-stop, unassisted solo circumnavigation of the world. via the three Great Capes.
Gregor has partnered with an Irish publisher CJ Fallon and Ireland’s Marine Institute to create an education programme based around his GGR voyage, designed to engage primary children in adventure and the marine environment. Distributed free to classrooms across Ireland, the overriding goal has been to create an army of ‘Ocean literate’ young people who understand the importance our oceans have on them so that they are well placed to ensure a sustainable and sensible future for Ireland the world.

He says of the GGR: “When I started sailing, the main attraction was the freedom it gave me to explore. As I grew older and started sailing larger vessels, the scope of the areas I could potentially explore became almost infinite. When I started reading about the GGR I had already crossed the Atlantic a few times and the Indian ocean and asking myself  ‘What next’. A circumnavigation was always a dream along with ocean racing, so when this came up as an affordable way of achieving both it was a no-brainer.”


Gregor has selected the ketch rigged Biscay 36 ketch Mary Luck to compete in the GGR. Her refit was due to be completed at the end of February 2018, and he planned to spend March and April sailing around his native Ireland combining training with a promotional tour of ports.

- Igor Zaretskiy (RUS) Endurance 35 Esmeralda

 

Endurance 35 Esmeralda ©ƒ ©chevalier 2018

Designer :Peter Ibold

Name    Igor Zaretskiy
Born    September 11th 1951 – Yroslavl, Russia
Domicile    Yroslavl, Russia
Country of entry    Russia

Born and bred on the banks of the River Volga running through the Russian city of Yroslavl on its way to enter the Caspian Sea, Igor Zaretskiy is one of Russia’s most experienced international sailors. He has twice won the Russian ¼ Ton championship, competed in multiple RORC Caribbean races, and such classics as the Fastnet, Newport-Bermuda and Middle Sea races. In 2010 he won the Jester Challenge singlehanded transatlantic race, a feat that won him Russia’s Yachtsman of the Year title. 
He says of the GGR:  “Sailing around the world has been a dream since childhood. I knew about the first Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1968/9, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to take part 50 years later.”

Igor Zaretskiy has selected the Belliure Endurance 35 ketch Esmeralda to compete in the GGR. Supported by the magazine Yacht Russia, his team spent the 2017/18 winter preparing the yacht in the warmer climes of Spain. They took delivery of a new rig in February and planned to relaunch her at the beginning of March ready for Igor to sail first to the Azores before heading north to Falmouth as part of the yacht’s sail trials.
 

- Istvan Kopar (USA) Tradewind 35 Puffin

 

Tradwind 35 Puffin ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :John Rock

Name Istvan Kopar
Born   March 8, 1953 – Budapest, Hungary
Domicile       Delray Beach, Florida, USA
Country of entry    USA

Istvan Kopar, a Hungarian-born American, is a professional sailor and U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captain who has logged more than 60,000 nautical miles sailing solo. His proudest accomplishment to date was his solo one-stop circumnavigation in 1990-1991 without the aid of GPS. He relied on a sextant, manual chart plotting, and weather forecasts broadcast in Morse code. Sailing a 31-foot boat that he had built himself, Istvan completed the voyage in record time for the size of his yacht. Istvan also skippered the winning yacht in the 1996/97 Hong Kong Challenge around the world yacht race. He was among the top finishers in the 1992 America 500-Columbus Transatlantic Race, and won the Kapry’s Trophy in the 1995 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC).

He says of the GGR: “This race is custom-made for me. My first hero and role model was Joshua Slocum, the first recorded solo circumnavigator. He had no land support, no modern navigation and communication devices, or even a mechanical wind vane. He was the real deal. And he was able to accomplish this historic achievement due to his upbringing and constant connection with the oceans and sailing.
We admire the other great sailors, but the gap between nature and its users has been getting more visible by the day. Those competing in the Vendée Globe or Volvo circumnavigation races are becoming increasingly dependent on manmade equipment, and less dependent on nature. They start to look and act like astronauts in space, getting more and more isolated from nature. There is a demand for that, and it is all well and good, but we still need ‘Optimists’ during our upbringing. And for the very same reason, we need races like the GGR to maintain our heritage and seamanship, as well as to increase the number of self-sufficient, independent, and consequently happy people in the world.”

Istvan Kopar purchased the 1986-built Tradewind 35 class yacht Puffin in 2015 to compete in the GGR. Istvan and his team have since stripped the inside and outside of the boat and added more layers of fiberglass to improve her durability. Other modifications included decreasing the size of the cockpit and improving its drainage, adding a watertight bulkhead inside the bow, and installing an additional freshwater tank.
During this work Istvan removed his wristwatch, not just because it was an obstacle at times, but to stop himself from checking off the days like minutes. He has won much-needed support from friends and the industry, in particular Alexseal, Seahawk, Selden, Windpilot, Wempe, BaoBab Group, and Bayside Canvas. Puffin was relaunched in November 2017 following a comprehensive 2-year refit. Initial sea trials took place in Oyster Bay, New York, before she was hauled out again for the winter. Puffin is now painted bright orange and was due to be re-launched at the end of March. Istvan planned to use the transatlantic crossing to complete his 2,000-mile qualifying sail and intended to base himself in Southampton UK prior to the start.

- Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (FRA) Rustler 36 Matmut

Rustler 36 Matmut ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :Holman & Pye

Name        Jean-Luc van den Heede
Born        June 8th 1945 – Amiens, Somme,  France
Domicile    Les Sables d’Olonne, France
Country of entry    France

Jean-Luc van den Heede is the father figure of French solo sailing. The 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 Vendée Globe Race, 2nd in the 1993 Vendée Globe, and 3rd in the 1995 BOC Challenge Around Alone Race. Van den Heede bought a Rustler 36 class yacht in august 2015 and spent the first few months test sailing her out in the Atlantic before commencing a complete refit in his homeport of La Sables d’Olonne.
He has won sponsorship from the French insurance group MATMUT.
Jean-Luc says of the GGR: “From all my experiences, I am well aware of the difficulties this race poses. The slow speeds of these classic old boats with their long keels, the absence of weather information, the loss of all electronics and reliance on a sextant to plot positions, the lack of terrestrial contact, and the replacement of an electric pilot with wind vane self steering, will make this test even more random and difficult than the Vendée Globe.
But this is good. I want to re-live the conditions and challenges that my sailing predecessors enjoyed and to this end I have optimised my Rustler 36: New mast, new rigging, new engine, new sails, watertight bulkheads, and new winches. I am very conscious of the problems that are likely to occur during our 8 or 9 months of sea and have done everything to make Matmut safer. I am also trying to get myself in the best physical condition with the assistance of a physio, a coach – and my bicycle!
I have also rediscovered the environment and comradeship I loved so much during the first editions of these races. We are all conscious that this will be a difficult adventure and that engenders a strong bond between us that I have not seen since the first Mini Transat 6.50 and Vendée Globe race back in the early ‘90s.
My goal is to be in good health at the start with a top boat, then, take each day in turn, absorbing the emotions and thoughts of those who preceded us: Slocum, Moitessier, Alain Gerbault, Vito Dumas and of course, my good friend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who set such an example for us all 50 years ago.”

Jean-Luc van den Heede completed a 6-month refit of his Rustler 36 class yacht Matmut in 2016, replacing her mast, rigging, sails, ropes and engine. He also completed the compulsory test sail under jury rig and spent the 2017/18 winter months sailing her in the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic to test the yacht in strong winds with assistance from former GGR entrant Lionel Regnier.


- Kevin Farebrother (AUS) Tradewind 35 Sagarmatha

 

Tradwind 35 Sagarmatha ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :John Rock

Name    Kevin Farebrother
Born    March 6th 1968 – Manchester UK
Domicile    Perth, Australia
Country of entry    Australia

Kevin Farebrother, a fireman from Perth, West Australia, is an adventurer at heart, with three successful assents of Mount Everest. On his last climb, this former 23 SAS Soldier took with him a copy of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s book A world of my own, and says: “The story of winning the first Golden Globe Race in 1969 was far more scary than anything I’ve experienced climbing Everest!”
Kevin had previously owned a UFO 34 yacht and bought Don McIntyre’s Tradewind 35 Silver Heels to do the GGR which he has renamed Sagarmatha, and shipped to the UK.
Farebrother says of the GGR: "The Race is a chance in a lifetime that will test mind and body to the limits. The challenge is being alone for such a long period with no one to bounce off thoughts and ideas when the going gets tough.”

Kevin Farebrother bought Don McIntyre’s Tradewind 35 class yacht Silver Heels in 2016. He has renamed her Sagarmatha, which is Nepalese for Mount Everest.  He sailed her the 6,000 mile distance from Sydney around the top of Australia to Perth where he prepared the yacht for the Race during 2017. Sagarmatha joined Mark Sinclair’s rival Lello 34 Coconut on the same ship bound for London. Kevin planned to base himself in Les Sables d’Olnne to make final preparations.


- Loïc Lepage (FRA) Nicholson 32 Laaland

 

Nicholson 32 Laaland ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :  Charles A. Nicholson / Peter Nicholson

Name    Loïc Lepage
Born    February 15th 1956 – Besançon, France
Domicile    Vannes, Brittany, France
Country of entry    France

Loïc Lepage bought the Nicholson 32 Mk X yacht Laaland back in 2015 with a plan to have one of the best-prepared yachts in the race. After an 18-month refit, he sailed her between May and August 2017 from Quiberon to the Azores and back prior to completing his jury rig test.
Loïc has more than 20,000 miles of solo sailing under his belt including three trans-Biscay and four transatlantic crossings.
He says of the GGR: “I’m very happy to be part of this legendary race. When I was 16, I devoured books written by Bernard Moitessier and Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and the dream of completing a solo round-the-world race myself has remained a passion of mine.”
In 2011, Lepage came close to realising his dream, and after two years of preparation, he set out in his First 35 class yacht. “Unfortunately, 10 days out, my boat hit a container and sank within 2 hours, but the experience has not changed my motivation. The GGR is the perfect race to realise a dream.”
Loïc successfully raised money to support his campaign by the unusual method of Crowd funding.

Boat
Loïc Lepage has chosen to race the Nicholson 32 Mk X yacht Laaland, one of the smallest yachts in the fleet. Having completed the trials in the summer of 2017, she returned to the shipyard at Vannes to have a crash bulkhead fitted, leaks sealed and new radio equipment fitted. Loïc  aimed to have the boat back in the water to complete sea trials in May 2018 and will then sail to the UK to take part in the Suhaili 50 Falmouth Parade of Sail prior to the start of the GGR from Les Sables d’Olonne on July 1st.

- Mark Sinclair (Aus) Lello 34 Coconut

 

Lello 34 Coconut ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer : Bryan Lello

Name    Mark Sinclair
Born    August 20th 1958 – Bury, Greater Manchester, UK
Domicile    Adelaide, Australia
Country of entry    Australia

Mark Sinclair has always been passionate about sailing and the sea. In 1968, at the age of 10, he started sailing, at the time when Sir Robin Knox-Johnston departed to become the first to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation. In 1984, Mark completed two solo crossings of the Tasman Sea and gained his Yacht Master Ocean Certificate. Before entering the GGR, when on leave from work, Mark typically sailed his S&S 41 Starwave single-handed around remote areas of Australia. When Mark found out about the 2018 GGR, he applied immediately, sold Starwave and deferred his plans to compete in the 2018 single-handed trans-Tasman race; Mark purchased Coconut, a Lello 34 class yacht, for the GGR.
Mark’s professional background includes hydrographic surveying of remote areas in ships, small boats and aircraft. He served 20-years in the Royal Australian Navy, commanding three ships and navigating four, at the time when celestial navigation by sextant was still the primary means of offshore navigation. He retired from the RAN as a Commander in 1996. Mark currently works as the Director of Fugro’s Hydrographic Services in Asia-Pacific and conducts hydrographic surveys worldwide.  Mark is married with three children.

Coconut is a strong, seaworthy Lello 34 class yacht with a narrow beam and traditional long keel. She was built in Durban, South Africa in 1980. Long before Mark Sinclair acquired her, Coconut had already circumnavigated the globe, combining a cruise in the Mediterranean and through the Pacific Islands before returning to South Africa. When Mark saw a YouTube video of her sailing in the Roaring 40s from Africa to Adelaide, he was so impressed that he sold his yacht Starwave and purchased Coconut for his entry in the 2018 GGR.
Although of sound design, a significant refit was required to prepare Coconut for the race. This included building internal hanging knees to strengthen the hull, deck and coach house for the rigours of the Southern Ocean, fitting an aluminium watertight door, new hatches and windows, new chainplates, rigging, sails, electrics and safety equipment. The original mast was completely stripped back and converted from a single to two-spreader rig for additional strength and all fittings were rebuilt.  The original Aries windvane and Farymann 22 HP diesel are retained and refurbished. Coconut was shipped to Europe in January 2018 and from the start of May, Mark set up base camp at Plymouth Yacht Haven in Turnchapel Devon, to conduct final preparations for the start of the GGR, whilst continuing to work remotely from an office in the nearby Fugro Academy training facility.


 - Mark Slats (NED) Rustler 36 Ohpen Maverick

 

Rustler 36 Maverick ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :Holman & Pye

Name    Mark Slats
Born    April 8th 1977 – Darwin, Australia
Domicile     Wassenaar, holland
Country of entry    Netherlands

Mark Slats 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 the Rustler 36 Maverick – the first one to be built.
Mark has his own business renovating old houses, but found preparing for the GGR and the 2017 Talisker Transatlantic Rowing Challenge took up a great deal of his time. “I’m out training 8 hours each day and been spending the rest planning for these two events. It is very time consuming!”
Remarkably, Slats overcame the disappointment of losing his fellow rower in the 2-man class, shortly before the start of the Talisker Challenge, but went on and won the singlehanded class, in record time after finishing 4th overall, ahead of all the 2-man crews!
Mark’s GGR challenge is managed by Dutch naval architect Dick Koopmans. The yacht was sailed across the North Sea  to his home port of Wassenaar near the fishing port of Scheveningen earlier in 2017, and had a 3-man team fitting the boat out under Koopman’s direction while Mark was rowing across the Atlantic.
Why has he entered the GGR? “Because I live for this stuff” he says.


Mark Slats is one of seven GGR skippers to select the Rustler 36 production yacht for the Race. It is the most popular class by far.
“The boat is in pretty good shape.”  says Mark, adding. “The team has stripped off the teak deck and will step a new mast and rigging before our planned re-launch in March 2018. Dick Koopmans is making a study of the expected weather conditions around the course and designing a sail plan to suit. From March, I will be sailing full time to be ready for the race start on July 1st."


- Nabil Amra (PAL) Biscay 36 Liberty II 

Biscay 36 E'le May ©ƒ©hevalier 2018

Designer :Alan Hill

Name    Nabil Amra
Born    September 3rd 1975 – Chaska, Minnesota, USA
Domicile    Minneapolis, USA
Country of entry    Palestine

Nabil Amra is an American born Palestinian who works as a foreign exchange trader in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He purchased a ketch rigged version of the Biscay 36 class yacht built by the Falmouth Boat Company named Elle May which he returned her to the builder to have her prepared for the GGR.
In 2015, 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 class yacht based in St. Maarten.
He says of the GGR: "My saltwater journey is just beginning! 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 is to sail under the Palestinian flag and to represent these forlorn people who have had little to be cheery about for a long time.”

Nabil Amra's Elle May was the last of the Biscay 36 class yachts to be built by the Falmouth Boat Company in 1990. Initially, he and fellow skipper Antoine Cousot formed an alliance to prepare their two Biscay 38 yachts alongside each other, but work on bought the first, Viscaya, (now re-named Goldstar) built in 1975 and the two competitors joined forces to prepare their Alan Hill designed yachts but work on Elle May was delayed and she was not expected to be launched until April 2018.

- Philippe Péché (FRA) Rustler 36 PRB

 

Rustler 36 PRB Grégal ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer :Holman & Pye

Name        Philippe Péché
Born        January 7th 1961 – Lorient, France
Domicile    La Trinité Sur Mer
Country of entry    France

Philippe Péché is one of France’s leading sailors. This proud Breton has covered more than 300,000 miles racing everything from monohulls to giant multihulls. Péché, who has lived in Australia for the past 20 years, has twice won the Jules Verne Trophy with Bruno Peyron, completing the circumnavigation within 50 days.  He has also sailed with other famous sailors including Eric Tabarly, Michel Desjoyeaux, Ellen MacArthur, Armel Le Cléac’h and Alain Gautier, and is the 8th French skipper to be sponsored by the Vendée based PRB masonary brand.
Philippe says of the GGR: “It is an amazing challenge and adventure that comes at just the right time for me.“

Philippe has bought the famous Rustler 36 Gollywobbler, which British yachtswoman Ann Fraser competed in the 1986 2-handed transatlantic race, and cruised from San Diego to Alaska and back.  Renamed Grégal, a name shared on all his Father’s yachts, she underwent a complete refit during the 2016/17 winter and competed in several events during 2017, including the Spi Ouest-France Easter regatta and the Celtikup ocean triangle race between Lorient, Douarnenez, Falmouth and back to Lorient.

Philippe says that he learned a lot more about the boat and his own capabilities as a solo sailor during his 2,000 mile qualifying trial. “This was the first time I have sailed singlehanded and I fell into the rhythm very quickly. I stayed within the Bay of Biscay and tested the boat in varying conditions and different wind angles. I learned a lot about the yacht’s performance and how to live inside a small boat for an extended period.”
The yacht was renamed PRB in February 2018

- Susie Goodall (GBR)  Rustler 36 DHL Starlight

 

Rustler 36 DHL Starligh ©F Chevalier

Designer :Holman & Pye

Name  Susie Goodall
Born    July 27th 1989 – Gloucester, UK
Domicile    Falmouth, UK
Country of entry    United Kingdom

Susie Goodall is an offshore and ocean sailing instructor who was introduced to the sport at the age of 3 and raced Laser dinghies before moving into teaching. In recent times, she has been skippering a 60ft sail training/expedition yacht in Scandinavia. She says: “When I was young, all holidays were spent sailing and my weekends were taken up racing Lasers, before I started teaching sailing on the Isle of Wight. I’ve spent a few years working in the superyacht industry before taking up sail training.”

She has won sponsorship from worldwide courier DHL and bought the Rustler 36 Ariadne, in which she completed a double Atlantic solo crossing in 2017 prior to returning to builder Rustler Yachts in Falmouth for a complete refit in preparation for the GGR.  The yacht was displayed at the 2018 London International Boat Show where she was renamed DHL Starlight.

Susie Goodall is one of 7 entrants to have selected the rugged Rustler 36 class yacht to compete in the GGR. In 2016, the yacht underwent an initial refit prior to Susie completing a solo transatlantic passage to the Caribbean and back.  This experience gave Susie the opportunity to tailor the boat to her exact requirements, and the modifications, which include a protective doghouse over the companionway and forward end of the cockpit, were  completed during a final refit at the Rustler Yachts yard in Falmouth where she was built. 

- Tapio Lehtinen (FIN) Gaia 36 Asteria

 

Gaia 36 Asteria ©F Chevalier

Designer : Sparkman & Stephens

Name     Tapio Lehtinen
Born     January 19th 1958 – Helsinki, Finland
Domicile     Helsinki, Finland
Country of entry     Finland

Tapio Lehtinen from Helsinki is a life long sailor who started in Optimist dinghies at the age of 6. A former Commodore of the Helsingfors Segelsällskap (HSS) Yacht Club, his experience ranges from racing Lasers, 470s and 29ers to keel boat and ocean racing, including a three-decade-long racing career in his classic six metre May Be IV. He has competed in the 1981/2 Whitbread Round the World Race aboard Skopbank of Finland, the 1985 Two handed Round Britain and Ireland Race, the 2-STAR transatlantic race 1986, the Azores and Back race in 1987 and the 2014 Bermuda Race.
He says of GGR: “I am participating because I love sailing, I enjoy being at sea. I accept the challenges, but I am not a risk taker. I take pride in preparing well and sailing in a seamanlike way. I’m competitive, but realise that in order to do well in this race, I first have to finish.”

Tapio Lehtinen will be campaigning a Benello Gaia 36, a Sparkman & Stephens design that won the first One Ton Cup in 1965 and a long keeled forerunner to the Nautor Swan 36, which he sailed from the Mediterranean back to Finland in 2017 prior to her being extensively refurbished at the Nordic Refit Centre in Larsmo. Built in 1965, Asteria is the oldest boat entered in the GGR, and work to restore her to racing standard has been extensive. Her deck moulding has been replaced and the interior stripped out to leave a bare hull prior to rebuilding with stronger bulkheads and fastenings. Tapio expected this work to be completed by Easter 2018 when he intended to give the boat a proper shakedown prior to arriving to Falmouth for the Suhaili 50 Falmouth Parade of Sail on June 14, 2018.

- Uku Randmaa (EST) Rustler 36 One and All

 

Rustler 36 One and All ©ƒ ©Chevalier 2018

Designer :Holman & Pye

Name    Uku Randmaa
Born    February 6th 1963 – Viljandi, Estonia
Domicile    Tallinn, Estonia
Country of entry    Estonia

Uku Randmaa 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.
Uku says of the GGR: “This is a 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.”

Uku Randmaa had planned to race the Rustler 36, Maibi in the GGR but then had second thoughts after reviewing all the luxuries and labour-saving devices onboard. “She was too luxurious with teak decks, bow thruster and heavy anchor winch on the foredeck – none of which I need for the race.” So, in December 2017, he made the decision to buy Lionel Regnier’s Rustler 36 One and All, which the Frenchman had already refitted for the GGR prior to his retirement.

- Francesco Cappelletti Endurance 35 OO7

 

Endurance 35 OO7 ©F Chevalier

Designer :Peter Ibold

Name    Francesco Cappelletti
Born    June 8th 1978 – Montevarchi, Arezzo, Italy
Domicile    Pisa, Italy
Country of entry    Italy

Francesco Cappelletti is a professional Ocean Yacht Master with commercial endorsements based in Tuscany. He has delivered yachts throughout the Mediterranean, Western Europe and across the Atlantic and also worked as a charter skipper and sailing instructor. Before becoming professional he sailed the West coast of Italy and Islands in a 20ft boat without any electronics or autopilot.
Francesco says of the GGR: “After learning about the Race, I found myself thinking how important the accounts from the original Sunday Times Golden Globe Race have been during my training as a seaman. I used to sail without an autopilot or electrical instruments, and with only a Tilley storm-lamp as my light source. Sailing round the world alone in this basic way is a must-do-in-lifetime goal. I see the 2018 GGR as a chance to pay tribute to my core passion for the sea.”

Francesco has selected the sloop rigged Endurance 35  007 built in 1975 by the French shipyard Stratimer. He expects this rugged design will perform well in light winds and be one of the better suited for rough downwind conditions expected in the Southern Ocean. He particularly likes her spacious living quarters, sheltered cockpit and clean deck. Her refit over the 2017/18 winter included replacing her decks, reinforcing the bow area, converting her to a ketch and fitting new bowsprit, chain plates and rudder. Francesco used  crowd funding to raise the money for her new masts. He expected to relaunch 007 and complete initial trials in the Mediterranean prior setting sail for Les Sables d’Olonne in june or before july 7th.


Ceux qui on failli partir :

- Carl Huber

Baba 35 Jamma Jeanne ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer : Robert Perry

Name    Carl Huber
Born    29. décembre 1960 

NationalitéAmericain 

Pays d'inscription Etats-Unis 

A deep thinking computer science university lecturer, Carl Huber discovered sailing a little late in life. He did not set foot on a boat until he was 40, and it soon taught him that many of the things he had always dreamed of were achievable. After taking sailing courses on the Chesapeake and in the US Virgin Islands, he began bareboat chartering in the Caribbean where he formulated plans to use small sailboats to transport goods cleanly and inexpensively in support of impoverished areas like Haiti.
A circumnavigation has been a lifelong dream and Huber intends to use the Golden Globe Race to bring attention to the size and fragility of the planet and the potential to put untapped natural resources like wind to work in practical and creative ways.
To complete his 8,000 sailing mile qualifying distance, Carl joined the crew of the former Whitbread Round the World Race yacht Ceramco New Zealand from the Caribbean through the Panama Canal back to her home port of Auckland.
Huber is using his participation in the GGR to call attention to an ideal he often thinks about. He sees many of our problems as human beings, individually and collectively, are a product of how we relate to the planet and if we were able to see things through a different prism, we would all be better for it.

- Gustavo Pacheco

 

Lello 34 Double Hélix ©F Chevalier

Designer : Bryan Lello

Name    Gustavo Pacheco 

14. juillet 1959 

NationalitéBresilien 

Pays d'inscription Bresil 

Pour Gustavo ‘Rato’ Pacheco, la GGR 2018 sera son deuxième projet de course à voile en solitaire. La première fût la Mini Transate 2003, dans laquelle il termine 27ème sur les 39 inscrits, en concourant sur le plus vieux bateau de la flotte. Pour la GGR, il est déterminé non pas à avoir le plus vieux bateau, mais a mis en suspend ses plans de construction d’une réplique du Suhaili, en faveur de l’achat d’un Lello 34, qu’il espère obtenir, avec le soutien de sponsors, début 2017.“Les deux moments de joie intense dans un projet comme celui-ci, sont la traversée de la ligne de départ… et puis, de la ligne d’arrivée.” dit-il.

Gustavo a fait l’acquisition de Double Hélix, un Lello 34 en Afrique du Sud, pour 25 000 $ US, et a commencé les travaux de rénovation à Cap Town.

- Patrick Phélipon

 

Endurance 35 Floreana

Designer :Peter Ibold

Texte :

Name    Patrick Phélipon
Born    29. décembre 1953 

NationalitéFrançais 

Pays d'inscription France 

Patrick Phélipon est un autre disciple d’Eric Tabarly, ayant navigué avec le doyen de la voile française à bord du Pen Duick VI, en 1977/88 lors de la Whitbread Race, course mondiale. Depuis, il a couru en Mini, Quart et Demi tonnes, et sur des 60 pieds ultra légers. Son voilier actuel est un Mallard de 9 mètres. Il a choisi de concourir à la GGR à bord d’un Ketch, type Endurance 35, baptisé Floreana. L’été 2016, il a navigué sur son voilier en Méditerranée, avant de le remettre en état dans un chantier à Pise, en Italie, pour l’adapter à la navigation en solo. 

Phélipon dit de la GGR “ ça fait un moment que j’ai envie de faire le tour du monde à la voile, mais je ne me sentais pas prêt à le faire jusqu’à maintenant. J’aime ce type de bateaux traditionnels qui a été choisi et le règlement qui encadre la course. C’est très bien d’être impliqué dès le début de cette l’aventure. La partie la plus difficile sera dans l’Océan du Sud, j’y suis déjà allé auparavant, et c’est un endroit très rude pour naviguer.”

Patrick Phélipon avait sélectionné un Endurance 36, voilier avec un déplacement assez lourd, baptisé Floreana. Ce croiseur classique, “poid-lourd” de longue distance, conçu par Peter Ibold, a également été choisi par le britannique Ian Reid, et le russe Igor Zaretskiy.

- Antonio Garcia Martinez 

NationalitéAmericain 

Pays d'inscription Etats-Unis 

This American, born to Cuban refugees, grew up in Miami and began sailing Optimist dinghies on Biscayne Bay before graduating to ocean cruising. Ultimately, this led him to purchasing and refitting the Westsail 32 traditional production yacht Ayala. In 2016, Antonio, who has duel US/Spanish citizenship, marked out a career in Silicon Valley working as a social media technologist for Facebook and Twitter, but given this up to sail from San Francisco across the Pacific, then continue to Falmouth in 2017 – a near circumnavigation just to get to the start!

Les référents, Suhiali et Josuha

 

Suhaili ©F Chevalier

Designer : William Atkin

Joshua ©F Chevalier 2018

Designer : Jean Knocker