Arnaud Gaist cannot sail to windward with mast issues, so returning to Les Sables d’Olonne! Via the Caribbean!
The Golden Globe Race fleet is stretched 5000 miles across the Southern Ocean and is not short of stories. Just nine sailors are still bound for Les Sables d’Olonne in France and they are not even halfway!
The weather, as much as it has been frustrating and even slow for the sailors, is not bringing the usual intense Southern Ocean storms and that is a good thing.
The two months delay starting this edition was obviously a good decision, but then getting around Cape Horn before the end of March 2023 and the “Hobart Gate” closing on the 31st of January for slow entrants is a whole new threat! The Golden Globe is full of challenges. It is hard to get to the start and even harder to make the finish.
Arnaud Gaist (FRA) has been plagued by rigging issues over the past few weeks and now, on top, also with barnacles, He has given up! Today he is 200 miles out of Saint Helena. He officially notified GGR control that he is retiring from the race and is heading north, unable to sail to windward. It took a long, frustrating and depressing time to make the decision but now that it’s done he feels relaxed. After three years of planning and preparation it is a hard decision to make. With another 150 days of food on board, he is planning to head eventually to the Caribbean and then on to Les Sables d’Olonne once Hermes Phoning is back in shape.
